Vicky Phelan: Who are HSE 'trying to fool' by not admitting liability in Lynsey Bennett case
Vicky Phelan says she would have more respect for the HSE if they apologised to the women they neglected. Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins
Cervical cancer campaigner, Vicky Phelan, took to Twitter to share her anger with the HSE and the State Claims Agency (SCA) for continuously settling CervicalCheck cases without admitting liability or apologising to the women involved.
Speaking about the now-settled case of 32-year-old mother of two, Lynsey Bennett, who is seriously ill with cancer, Ms Phelan said she doesn't know why Lynsey did not receive an apology from the HSE in court yesterday: “We do not know why no apology was made in Lynsey’s case but no apology was made in my case either until a few days after my case settled, nor was there an admission of liability.
“Yet, negligence was established in my case and I was awarded a settlement of €2.5m.”
Vicky Phelan said she would have more respect for the HSE if they admitted their wrongdoing:
"Who are the HSE and the SCA trying to fool by not admitting liability or apologising when such large amounts are being awarded?
"I would have far more respect for the HSE if they OWNED their mistakes and ADMITTED liability, particularly with cases that have been heard since the watershed Scally Report by Dr Gabriel Scally who found that the CervicalCheck programme was doomed to fail and that there were serious issues with QA and corporate governance with little to no oversight of the programme."
Here we go again….An angry thread
— Vicky Phelan (@PhelanVicky) February 4, 2021
It is only a few short months since Patricia Carrick, another terminally-ill woman who sued the @HSELive & a lab, MedLab, settled her case for the negligent misreading of her slides. Patricia died weeks later. To add insult to injury, Patricia
Vicky, who is currently undergoing treatment with a new cancer drug in the United States, tweeted her anger about a “deeply disturbing narrative” that’s resurfacing despite the HSE being found as primarily liable for negligence in previous cases.
“Instead, what we are seeing is a deeply disturbing narrative beginning to resurface DESPITE the fact that in ALL cases that have been heard, to date, for failures in cervical screening - negligence has been established and women have been compensated and we will ALL die as a result…”
In order for trust and confidence to be restored, Vicky says “it is incumbent on those involved in cervical screening, at every level, from the top to the bottom, to acknowledge that harm was done, to accept that the programme DID fail women, and to engage meaningfully with patient advocates.”
Lynsey Bennett said she was relieved that her legal battle was over and she has security for her girls and their future:
“Unfortunately, I probably will not be here much longer. It is just I will be able to have some peace knowing it is sorted.”
CervicalCheck CEO Fiona Murphy, in a letter to the 32-year-old mother, said she wished on behalf of the CervicalCheck Programme “to express our deep regret to you and your family.”
Vicky Phelan flew to Maryland last month to take part in a clinical trial, and she will be staying there for the next six months.
