Despite the bravery of Vicky Phelan, Emma Mhic Mhathuna and Ruth Morrissey, Patricia Carrick still had to fight her own court battle

Patricia was a private woman, forced into a public fight for justice, writesEavan Murray

Patricia Carrick, from Oranmore, Co Galway, who died on from cervical cancer on Wednesday morning. Photo: Ciarán MacChoncarraige

Eavan Murray

The death of Patricia Carrick brings into focus once again the horrific tragedy inflicted on hundreds of Irish women due to failures in the CervicalCheck screening programme.

Patricia, a mother of four from Oranmore, Co Galway, lost her battle with cervical cancer in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Her loss to her husband and children is incalculable.

She is the latest woman to die as a consequence of one of the worst medical disasters in the history of the State.

A retrospective audit of smear test results obtained under the national screening programme found that 221 women’s test readings missed abnormalities, leading to the development of cervical cancer. The results of the audit were not disclosed to 162 of these women, many of whom have now died. Children have lost their mothers; husbands, their wives, and parents have buried their daughters.

Every few months when the plight of another woman is made public, either by news of a court settlement or another death, the horror of it all makes headlines again.

But for the women and the families affected, the cruel cost is relentless.

The public first became aware in April 2018. Vicky Phelan, a woman of immense courage and selflessness, stood on the steps of the High Court and told us all what had happened to her. She said there were many other just like her.

In the subsequent days and weeks, other women came forward and told their stories.

Emma Mhic Mhathuna, a 37-year-old mother of five, was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2016. She came forward and told her story on May 10, 2018. She fought like a lion in court to secure the financial future of her children.

In interviews, Emma spoke about her anger at the HSE and the Government. She believed they were dragging their heels in dealing with the cervical cancer scandal.

She died less than five months later, on October 7.

Her family paid tribute to “a wonderful mother, daughter and cherished friend”.

“Emma, who battled her illness with great valour, passed away peacefully in the comfort of her family’s loving embrace in the knowledge that she had helped to shine a light on important issues which affected not just her own life, but lives of many others.

“Emma’s unending and unwavering commitment to her children means that her abiding legacy will be that of a great mother. However, Emma will also be remembered as someone who fought for social justice in an exceptionally selfless way during times of great personal challenge.”

Emma hoped other women like her wouldn’t have to endure the exhausting ordeal of a drawn-out court case.

Ruth Morrissey (39) was not told until 2018 that a review carried out in 2014 showed smears taken under the CervicalCheck screening programme in 2009 and 2012 had been incorrectly reported. Her cancer returned in 2018.

The mother of one took a test case against the HSE and two laboratories at the centre of the CervicalCheck scandal, and won in the High Court in 2019. The verdict was appealed to the Supreme Court, which also found in her favour in March of this year.

For months later, on July 17, Ruth Morrissey lost her battle.

Her solicitor, Cian O’Carroll, said Ruth reluctantly stepped up to become the person who “would have to pay the price” and make the sacrifice in the legal test case.

“She saw the importance of what she was being put through for others, and I think took well-justified strength and satisfaction from ultimately what she was able to achieve for all of the other women through her sacrifice.”

Patricia Carrick, despite the fight fought on her behalf by the women who had gone before, was still forced to endure an adversarial court system.

It is understood the High Court financial settlement, agreed over a month ago, has still not been paid although she was anxious to be reassured of it before she died.

In early October the HSE and a testing laboratory apologised in the High Court to her over the negligent reading of a smear test. At the time she was in the hospital and was too ill to attend court to hear the apology.

Speaking to this newspaper following the settlement, her husband Damien said the court process was brutal and unnecessarily adversarial.

“We are quiet, private people getting on with our lives and trying to do the best for our children,” he said.

“And this was visited on us. We never imagined we would be in a situation where we would be in the news.

“We were forced to go public when the HSE challenged the Supreme Court ruling achieved by Ruth Morrissey. We would have been very happy to stay private.

“It was the last thing we needed.”