Delay in review of locum's work

THE HEALTH Service Executive (HSE) was aware since September last year that a number of lung cancer patients in the northeast had been misdiagnosed, it has now emerged.

Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show a consultant respiratory physician at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, Dr John Kiely, wrote to another consultant in the hospital on September 12th, 2007, about concerns raised "regarding two cases with apparent missed lung cancer X-ray findings".

The information was brought to the attention of the manager of the Louth-Meath hospital group Des O'Flynn who wrote to the risk management department about it on September 20th, 2007.

And in a further letter on October 9th, 2007, Mr O'Flynn wrote to a leading radiologist in the region about "the confirmation that there were significant abnormalities on both patients' radiographs that were reported as normal" and the need to discuss how a wider audit could be carried out of the work of the locum consultant who wrongly reported on the X-rays.

Up to now it had been believed the problem around the misreading of lung cancer scans in the northeast only came to the HSE's attention last November.

In May this year, after a full review of the locum consultant radiologist's work was announced and letters were sent to 4,600 patients in the northeast advising them their X-rays were being double-checked, Minister for Health Mary Harney told the Dáil that it only came to the attention of the HSE "in late 2007" that a small number of patients in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital Drogheda and Our Lady's Hospital Navan had their diagnosis delayed due to an abnormality on their chest X-ray not being noted on initial examination by a locum consultant radiologist.

Louth Fine Gael TD Fergus O'Dowd, who obtained the new information under the Freedom of Information Act, said yesterday it was a disgrace the review of the locum's work did not begin for several months after initial concerns were raised.

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times