We broadly welcome the announcement by Minister Harris of the establishment of a Compensation Tribunal, to be chaired by Judge Mary Irvine, for those women and families affected by the CervicalCheck debacle.
We note Minister Harris has indicated that he may set up a non-statutory ex-gratia scheme to compensate the women who did not receive their audits in accordance with HSE’s open disclosure policy. We call on the Minister to confirm this and we look forward to the announcement of further details on this specific proposal.
We are very concerned that the exact timeline for the commencement of the tribunal proceedings has not been confirmed. The mooted commencement timing of late 2019 is not acceptable – and we want this to be implemented much sooner and without delay so that the impacted women, many of whom are seriously ill, can have access to justice expediently.
We now urge Minister Harris and the Government not to delay in putting all the necessary legal processes in place and we look forward to entering into discussions with all stakeholders on how this tribunal will be established and managed. We also urge the Minister to provide us with assurances on how the adversarial nature of this private process can be minimised, so that our members will not have to experience any further unnecessary distress.
We at 221+ will be supporting and advocating for the women and families involved in this tribunal, or whatever legal process they decide on, to find both answers and a satisfactory resolution as speedily as is possible.
Contact for 221+ CervicalCheck Patient Support Group:
Email: info@221plus.ie | Web: https://221plus.ie
Twitter: @221plus
For media contact: Young Communications 087 2471520
Who We Are:
221+ was set up in July 2018 following the significant revelations related to the CervicalCheck screening programme and the subsequent ongoing controversy.
The 221+ Group’s Steering Committee comprises a number of patient representatives directly affected by the scandal (Vicky Phelan, Stephen Teap and Lorraine Walsh) and by a number of patient groups (the Marie Keating Foundation, the Irish Cancer Society and the Irish Patient Association), with a view to providing structured support and services for these women and their families.