Expert tells court it took him less than a minute to detect abnormality in Ruth Morrissey's smear
A leading cervical screening expert who examined a 2009 smear slide of Ruth Morrissey who is suing over the alleged misreading of her smear tests has told the High Court it took him less than a minute to detect an abnormality.
Dr Michael McKenna said it was “ patently clear” it was abnormal.
“I made a judgment it was abnormal within a minute.” Dr Mc Kenna said about the slide.
The expert was giving evidence in the third day of the resumed action by Limerick woman, Ruth Morrissey- who is seriously ill with cervical cancer - against the HSE and two US laboratories.
He told the court he did not believe the way in which the slide was read by a US lab was in accordance with good laboratory practice and he said it was "not acceptable."
The consultant cytopathologist in charge of one of the North's four laboratories responsible for screening cervical smear tests Dr McKenna said he examined in October last year the 2009 Morrissey slide which had been tested by Quest Diagnostics at their lab in Wyoming and came back as negative.
Dr McKenna said the conclusion he came to was “you could not have not seen “ the abnormality.
“It is unbelievable you would not have seen it,” he added.
He said he found it difficult that it was not interpreted as abnormal.
“I decided it was abnormal. The category of abnormal takes longer,” he told Mr Justice Kevin Cross.
Dr McKenna said he would have expected a screener to have identified the abnormality. He said it was not acceptable that the Ruth Morrissey slide tested by Quest in . 2009 was reported as normal.
Ruth Morrissey and her husband Paul Morrissey of Kylemore, Schoolhouse Road, Monaleen, Co Limerick have sued the HSE and the US laboratory Quest Diagnostics Ireland Ltd with offices at Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin along with Medlab Pathology Ltd with offices at Sandyford Business Park, Dublin 18.
It is claimed there was an alleged failure to correctly report and diagnose and there was an alleged misinterpretation of her smear samples taken in 2009 and 2012.A situation it is claimed allegedly developed where Ms Morrissey’s cancer spread unidentified, unmonitored and untreated until she was diagnosed with cervical cancer in June 2014.
It is further claimed a review of the 2009 and 2012 smears took place in 2014 and 2015 with the results sent to Ms Morrissey's treating gynaecologist in 2016, but she was not told until May 2018 of those review results which showed her smears were reported incorrectly.
The Morrisseys further contends that if Ms Morrissey had been told the results of the smear test audits in late 2014 or early 2015, she would have insisted on an MRI and other scans.
The HSE the court has already heard admitted it owed a duty of care to Ms Morrissey but not to her husband. The laboratories deny all claims.
Referring to the 2012 Morrissey slide which was tested by MedLab Dr McKenna it was inadequate.He said MedLab could have made a second slide and that would have taken about 45 minutes.
“ It could not be treated at anything other than inadequate,” he told the court.
Counsel for Ms Morrissey Patrick Treacy SC also told the court yesterday the 2009 Ruth Morrissey slide which was sent to Quest Diagnostics was tested in a laboratory in Grand Rapids, Wyoming which it is alleged was not a laboratory set out in the HSE contract.
It is their case, Counsel said that the HSE did not know about this laboratory.
The case before Mr Justice Kevin Cross continues.
