Harney says nursing head raised breast scan concern

Minister for Health Mary Harney has defended the quality of mammography machinery used at Portlaoise hospital and said three consultants found cancer in the same seven mammograms that had been given the all-clear.

During a major Dáil debate on cancer services, Ms Harney said: "I have the utmost confidence that if the images were defective arising from machine defects, this would have been evident and would have already been brought to our attention."

Ms Harney also apologised to women affected by the controversy in the Portlaoise hospital and she paid tribute to the hospital's director of nursing whose concern about the service were raised in a letter to the HSE and led to the review.

"I offer an unreserved apology to the women who have been caused needless anxiety since August and most especially to the women who have been given false results and whose treatment has been delayed," she said.

Everyone was resolved that they should now "receive the best possible care and treatment as they should always have done. As Minister, I am also determined that every possible action is taken to minimise the risk of this happening again."

Later during a question and answer session, Ms Harney praised the director of nursing for her concern and said that only for the director, the number of misdiagnosed cancer cases could have been even higher.

Ms Harney opened the debate on breast cancer services, following the controversy about the misdiagnosis for seven women given the all-clear and subsequently found to have the disease. The report of the review of breast radiology in Portlaoise from November 2003 to August 2007, covers mammogram readings by the two permanent post holders and any locums who provided services and is due at the end of November. The Minister said many issues were being raised ahead of its completion.

"The fact is that three different consultants in Dublin, led by Dr Ann O'Doherty [the consultant preparing the report] each read about 1,000 mammograms" of the 3,028 taken in Portlaoise in the almost four-year period under examination.

Ms Harney said "the consultants found seven cancers in the same mammograms that were given the all-clear in Portlaoise. They were using the exact same mammograms delivered by the machinery now being questioned."

She highlighted how concerns about radiological assessment by one radiologist were raised by medical and nursing staff at the hospital, and that the main concern was about potential over-diagnosis of serious disease.

Ms Harney said concerns about equipment were followed up by the HSE and the latest inspection, in May, indicated "the machine was satisfactory and did not include any identifiable faults". She rejected Fine Gael's view that two radiologists should read a mammogram. "This is only recommended if there is a very low volume of mammograms, that is, well under 500, which would be the case in exceptional circumstances."

Supporting overall cancer services, the Minister said the phrase "centres of excellence" was used as if they were rare and exceptional.

There was excellence already in many hospitals, for the vast majority of the 2,000 women diagnosed each year with cancer. She highlighted the improvement in breast cancer survival rates which improved from 72.9 per cent between 1994 and 1997 to 78.2 per cent for those diagnosed between 1998 and 2001.