Readers' Blog: Scandal in a long line of screw-ups
The recent smear test scandal is one in a long line of screw-ups by our medical system. We hear it all the time with a mountain of medical cases before the courts. People who were misdiagnosed and when the fault was realised, a defensive posture was taken by Government agencies to avoid being sued.
It is the same old story: Denial and damage control by a medical screening system which is unreliable. Women are no doubt bound to be gravely worried who placed their trust in a system which is inadequate and mismanaged as the government clearly admit. Our medical system does not want to admit it got it wrong. When it comes to cancer and screening, there is no room for error and time is of the essence. Nine-to-five numbers are not sufficient either and there should have been a 24-hour hotline available to women affected by the medical negligence going on it the HSE. The bottom has to fall out of something in this country before something happens. We do not seem to be getting better either by having a Taoiseach who was a doctor. Doctors in politics does not mean we are going to have a better health system — far from it seems.
Woman who were wrongly diagnosed or victims of bureaucracy in telling them the bad news have been given a death sentence by the state, and if they sue, you can be damn sure the cases will be fought tooth and nail by HSE lawyers demanding a heavy burden of proof.
All the Government seem to be doing is “ordering a review” when it should dismissing civil servants for not performing and endangering people. We are living in a country which is still very much in the dark ages and it can forget about a united Ireland until such time as it comes of the cloak and dagger approach to solving problems which put people’s lives in great danger. We have people in many critical positions in this country who should be nowhere near the jobs they have and should be removed immediately and not simply asked to reflect on their positions.
