A woman who is terminally ill with cervical cancer will return to the High Court in the coming weeks to give further evidence in her action over alleged misreading of cervical smears.
Ruth Morrissey began her action last July against the HSE and two US laboratories over alleged misreading of two cervical smear slides taken under the CervicalCheck screening programme.
The 37-year-old woman, whom the court has been told has a maximum two years to live, previously gave evidence before Mr Justice Kevin Cross in July when the case was before him over four days. She also gave evidence at the start of her resumed action two weeks ago.
That has been at hearing for 11 days so far.
On Friday, Patrick Hanratty SC, for the HSE, said it will be necessary to recall her on the issue of alleged medical negligence.
Jeremy Maher SC, for Ms Morrissey, said she is very concerned about the potential delays in the case.
Mr Justice Cross said he did not want gaps between witnesses or “ping pong” of expert reports and witnesses between the sides as the resumed hearing enters its third week.
The case, which had been fast-tracked and given an early hearing date, was now proceeding at “the slow speed of a tram”, he said. Having heard submissions, he refused to allow one of the defendant laboratories, Quest Diagnostics, to bring in another expert witness.
Earlier, Sandra Tan, a US based cytotechnologist who reviewed slides of Ms Morrissey’s from 2009 and 2012 said, when she reviewed Ms Morrissey’s 2009 Quest Diagnostics slide at 10 times magnification, it took her 15 seconds to find abnormality. There was a large abnormal group of cells, she said. Her conclusion was it was abnormal and should have been passed on to the pathologist.
Another examination of the slide by her in September 2018 made the same findings.
Referring to Ms Morrissey’s 2012 slide, read by the second laboratory Medlab Pathology Ltd, she said there were enough atypical cells present and it should have been passed on to a pathologist for review.
Ms Morrissey and her husband Paul Morrissey, Schoolhouse Road, Monaleen, Co Limerick, have sued the HSE; 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.
It is claimed there was failure to correctly report and diagnose and misinterpretation of her smear samples taken in 2009 and 2012 and that a situation developed where her cancer spread unidentified, unmonitored and untreated until she was diagnosed with cervical cancer in June 2014.
It is further claimed the 2009 and 2012 smears were reviewed in 2014 and 2015 and the results were sent to Ms Morrissey’s treating gynaecologist in 2016 but Ms Morrissey 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.The laboratories deny all claims. The case continues on Tuesday.