A woman who is terminally ill with cancer has launched a High Court action claiming smear tests taken under the national screening programme were allegedly misdiagnosed or misreported .
Patricia Carrick, a 51-year-old mother of four, was diagnosed with cervical cancer last year. She underwent treatment but suffered a relapse in February and is now terminally ill and receiving palliative care.
Ms Carrick, of Oranmore, Co Galway, along with her husband Damien, has sued the Health Service Executive, claiming that failures in care on the balance of probability delayed a cancer diagnosis.
Ms Carrick, whose youngest child is 13, has further claimed it has impacted on her life expectancy and she has been unable to work since July last year when she was first diagnosed.
Test in 2014
Ms Carrick had a routine smear test in 2014 and it is claimed the cytology report issued showed no evidence of neoplasia. Another smear test in 2016 also showed no evidence of neoplasia.
In 2018, a further cervical smear test under the national screening programme was reported as unsatisfactory for assessment and Ms Carrick was advised she needed to have a repeat smear test in three months.
In February 2019, she had a smear test which was reported as showing no abnormalities. She was diagnosed with cervical cancer five months later which had spread to her pelvic lymph nodes.
Curative treatment
She has claimed she was deprived of the opportunity of timely and effective investigation and management of her condition and of the opportunity of treatment at a time when her disease was allegedly amenable to curative treatment.
The claims are denied.
The HSE applied on Tuesday to have the MedLab laboratory joined as a co-defendant in the proceedings, claiming there were exceptional circumstances to do so.
Patrick Hanratty SC, for the HSE, said it would be seeking an indemnity from MedLab.
Mr Justice Kevin Cross turned down the application to join MedLab as a co-defendant but said it could be allowed into the proceedings as a third party.