The Marie Keating Foundation wishes to express its sincerest sympathies to the families of the 17 women identified in the review of Cervical Check, who are now deceased and who were not notified of the errors associated with their cervical screening.

Following confirmation that 209 women with cervical cancer were not advised of the errors associated with their smear tests, the Marie Keating Foundation is supporting these women and their families by responding to their queries and questions, by voicing their concerns and demanding answers from the HSE.

Together with the Irish Patient Association and the Irish Cancer Society, the Marie Keating Foundation will be meeting with the Minister for Health and representatives of the National Cancer Control Programme and Cervical Check this week to ensure that the grave concerns and urgent queries of those women affected by this ongoing saga are clearly articulated.

“This is an incredibly sad and tragic episode in the history of the Irish health service. In solidarity with the families tragically left behind due to the untimely deaths of their loved ones from cervical cancer, and with those other women directly affected by issues associated with their cervical smear tests, we at the Marie Keating Foundation will do our utmost to ensure that their voices are heard in setting the terms of reference for the scoping inquiry, in ensuring that patient disclosure is made mandatory and in seeking redress for those directly affected.” Liz Yeates CEO, Marie Keating Foundation.

The Marie Keating Foundation is providing support to the HSE and National Screening Services in responding  to this very difficult and rapidly evolving situation by providing updated information and reassurance to women who have understandably  been worried and concerned this week.

We urge women to continue attending Cervical Check for their regular smear tests as despite the issues which have recently been unveiled, this screening programme together with HPV vaccination continues to save thousands of lives since its introduction in 2008.

For any woman who has ongoing concerns or questions, please refer to  www.cervicalcheck.ie website, where updated and comprehensive information is available.  Further updates are also available via @hselive on Twitter, and the Cervical Check Facebook page. You can also send any queries to the Marie Keating Foundation Ask The Nurse Helpline or the Cervical Check Helpline 1800 45 45 55.