CONCERNS ABOUT the practice of a locum consultant radiologist in the northeast, whose work is now being reviewed, were first raised with the Health Service Executive several months ago, it emerged yesterday.
The HSE was informed in late 2007 that four patients in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital Drogheda and Our Lady's Hospital Navan had their lung cancer diagnosis delayed due to an abnormality on their chest X-rays not having been noted on initial examination by the radiologist.
These patients were subsequently diagnosed with lung cancer through follow-up X-rays, and they have all since died.
The HSE has now established a review by external experts into these four cases. The review is being led by Prof Muiris Fitzgerald, a Dublin-based consultant respiratory physician.
Minister for Health Mary Harney said the review "will allow the HSE to establish if there was a clinical significance to the delayed diagnoses". She said the HSE has made contact with the families concerned and remains in regular contact with them to update them on progress and to offer any appropriate supports.
Her comments in the Dáil yesterday came after she was questioned about a report in yesterday's Irish Times on the fact that the HSE was about to contact thousands of patients whose chest X-rays and CT scans had been reported on by the locum consultant radiologist as part of an overall review of his work.
Ms Harney said the HSE began issuing letters to almost 4,600 patients on Wednesday evening, informing them that their scans would form part of the review. In all, approximately 6,000 chest X-rays and approximately 70 CT scans reported on by the locum while working in Drogheda and Navan from August 2006 to August 2007 are to be reviewed to ascertain whether other significant clinical findings were missed.
Ms Harney said individual patients will be notified of their results as soon as their X-ray/CT scan is reviewed.
"The HSE has emphasised in its letters to patients and others that the review is for precautionary reasons," she said.
When news of the review first emerged in March, the impression was given that it would be on a smaller scale, and the HSE said CT scans would not be part of it. However, this is not the case.
Ms Harney said the HSE had made its comments in March based on the information available to it at the time. "In its subsequent assessment of the situation and taking into account the advice of external experts, the HSE agreed that the look-back review would include a small number of CT scans," she said.
The extensive review, which is expected to take about eight weeks to complete, will be undertaken by a panel of radiologists from the Louth/Meath area, as well as radiologists from Northern Ireland.
The HSE, in a statement last night, confirmed the large-scale review began yesterday.
Stephen Mulvany, hospital network manager in the northeast, said chest X-rays were performed for many reasons, such as to check for respiratory tract infections, bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia, accidents, injuries, chest pain and heart failure.
"A small number would have been done for possible lung tumours, but the majority of patients who are being checked are extremely low-risk and included as a measure of prudence," he said.