A High Court judge has refused an application by a woman suing over alleged misinterpretation of her cervical smears to direct the HSE and two laboratories to provide what her lawyers described as “essential” documents relating to CervicalCheck screening.
The documents sought by Ruth Morrissey of Kylemore, Schoolhouse Road, Monaleen, Co Limerick, included all instructions and advice given to the HSE concerning circulation of the results of smear tests audits and all instructions to treating doctors on communication of audit results to the women affected.
Communications between the HSE and US laboratories that carried out the smear tests under the CervicalCheck Screening programme about quality assurance standards were also sought.
After a one-day hearing on Wednesday, Mr Justice Kevin Cross agreed with the HSE the categories of documents sought were neither relevant nor necessary.
He also accepted the laboratories’ arguments that quality assurances in general in relation to all smear samples were not going to be relevant.
The categories sought were too wide and not relevant, he said. He gave Ms Morrissey’s lawyers time to consider whether to ask for a limited discovery.
Earlier, Jeremy Maher SC, for Ms Morrissey, said the documents were essential to the proper presentation of her case. “We have been told no obstruction would be placed in the path of victims of cervical cancer. You will be surprised at the response of the HSE which is no, no, no,” he said.
It was a real issue for Ms Morrissey why audit results were not communicated to those whose smear samples were being audited, he said.
Patrick Hanratty SC, for the HSE, submitted the categories sought would “significantly widen” the issues in the case and add to the complexity and cost of the trial. After the judge refused the application, the HSE and the laboratories sought the costs of the one-day hearing.
The judge reserved the costs issue.
Ms Morrissey (37), a mother of one, and her husband Paul Morrissey of Kylemore, Schoolhouse Road, Monaleen, Co Limerick have sued the HSE; US laboratory, Quest Diagnostics Ireland Ltd, with offices at Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin; and Medlab Pathology Ltd with offices at Sandyford Business Park, Dublin 18.
The case is due to resume before the High Court in late January.
It is claimed there was failure to correctly report and diagnose, and alleged misinterpretation of her smear samples taken in 2009 and 2012, and that a situation developed where Ms Morrissey’s cancer spread unidentified, unmonitored and untreated until she was diagnosed with cervical cancer in June 2014. It is further claimed a review of the 2009 and 2012 smears took place in 2014 and 2015 and the results were sent to Ms Morrissey’s treating gynaecologist in 2016.
It is claimed she was not told until May 2018 of those review results which showed her smears were reported incorrectly.
The HSE has admitted it owed a duty of care to Ms Morrissey but not to her husband and that the results of her smear reviews should have been made known to Ms Morrissey. The laboratories deny all claims. Ms Morrissey suffered a recurrence of her cervical cancer this year and was also diagnosed with breast cancer.
Her lawyers sought documents from the HSE relating to dissemination of the results of audits carried out of the prior cervical smears of women diagnosed as having cervical cancer.
These were to include all instructions and/or advice in relation to dissemination of audit results and all documentation generated by the HSE in relation to any decision whether to communicate the results of the audits to women or their treating physicians.
They further sought all communications between the HSE and the laboratories concerning the quality assurance standards and standard operating procedures to apply to screening of cervical smears of women in the screening programme.
Correspondence between the former chair of the Quality Assurance Committee for Cervical Cytology and Pathology in the Cervical Screening Programme, Dr David Gibbons, the HSE, the Department of Health, the Minister of Health and any Oireachtas committee regarding outsourcing of the Pap smear laboratory services to foreign laboratories was also sought.