A decision not to hold a public inquiry into the cervical screening scandal in the Southern Health Trust area has been described as “an insult to women” and a “blatant refusal to uncover the truth”.
But Ladies with Letters campaigners – reacting to confirmation from Health Minister Mike Nesbitt – vowed: “The fight is far from over.”
It is now close to three years since 17,500 women in the Southern Health & Social Care Trust area received letters advising them that their cervical screening results (smear tests) were being reviewed, as they may have been read incorrectly.
The letters were issued following a report by the Royal College of Pathologists (RCP), which uncovered serious failings in cervical screening carried out by the SHSCT over a 13-year period.
The failings led to delayed diagnosis and disease progression, denying women the opportunity for early detection and treatment of cervical cancer. Two women from County Armagh – Lynsey Courtney from Portadown and Erin Harbinson from Tandragee – died. Both were young mothers who attended screening, received incorrect results and went on to develop, and tragically die from, cervical cancer.
Ladies with Letters, a collective of women directly impacted by the cervical screening review, came together to campaign for transparency and demand accountability.
The women had long campaigned for a statutory public inquiry, with other reports already having been compiled.
Minister Nesbitt, meanwhile, commissioned a further review by Professor Sir Frank Atherton.
But when the findings were published on Thursday, Sir Frank expressed his opinion that a public inquiry would be “inappropriate”.
He accepted there had been “clear management and governance failings” within the Southern Trust and the Public Health Agency, and said the production of a consolidated action plan would be “helpful in this regard” and delivery “should be closely monitored”.
But he continued: “A statutory inquiry might attempt to assign accountability against individuals either in the front-line delivery or management of cervical screening services.
“In my view this would be inappropriate, as to do so would encounter the difficulty outlined above of distinguishing between the inherent features of a screening programme (which, even when operating under optimal circumstances, will never be able to identify all cases of future disease) and a diagnostic programme (which is expected to give a more definitive conclusion).”
Minister Nesbitt said he accepted Sir Frank’s findings, adding: “A statutory public inquiry is a means to an end, that end being answering key questions. I believe those answers have been addressed as far as that is possible. We know what happened, why it happened, who was responsible and what has been done to try to ensure it never happens again.
“I recognise that this decision will be disappointing for many. I want to reassure them that lessons have been learnt and we will continue to make developments to improve our cervical screening programme in Northern Ireland.”
Representatives of the Ladies with Letters campaign group met with the Health Minister at Oxford Island Discovery Centre on Thursday to receive the latest report into the cervical screening scandal, which denied women the opportunity for early detection and treatment of cervical cancer.
Speaking on behalf of the group, Tracey Bell from Banbridge said: “Whilst we are disappointed at the Minister’s decision not to initiate a statutory public inquiry, we are unfortunately not surprised.
“The sequence of reviews and reports into these issues has been carefully orchestrated to give the impression that no stone has been left unturned in the Department of Health and the Trust’s investigations into these events, but we are going to call this what it is – a blatant refusal to uncover the truth!
“This outcome really is an insult to women here today who have suffered as a direct result of misread smear tests, and even more so the families of two beautiful young mothers, Lynsey Courtney and Erin Harbinson, who attended screening, received incorrect results and went on to develop and sadly die from cervical cancer. It’s like rubbing salt into an open wound!
“This latest report offers little comfort or clarity to those directly impacted and it has not helped restore any confidence in the cervical screening programme. This is not a reflection on the competency of the author of the report, Dr Atherton. Rather, it is a reflection on the limited scope of his review and the limited powers he had to conduct a thorough and effective investigation.
“Notably, Dr Atherton did not have the power to compel witnesses or evidence, he did not speak to all relevant people, including the Courtney family, he did not review incidents outside of the Southern Trust nor speak to staff members from the time, and he conducted his review behind closed doors, with no opportunity provided to victims to scrutinise the evidence which has informed his findings.”
Heather Thompson, a retired nurse from Tandragee and a founding member of the Ladies with Letters group, said: “It remains our position that a statutory public inquiry is needed to address the failures around misread smear tests that went on over a 13-year period, and which also extend to other Trusts, the true extent of which we feel has been masked by decisions not to inform women who were diagnosed prior to 2019 if their smear test was read incorrectly.
“Those women, or their families if deceased, would have to proactively seek out that information themselves.
“We are essentially being asked today to accept that a full and fearless investigation has been conducted, which means that no public inquiry is required. We totally disagree. Rather than reassure us, this entire process and the way it has been handled raises more questions than answers.
“What is particularly galling is that we, the members of Ladies with Letters, have direct knowledge of some of the circumstances which have allowed these failures to occur over more than a decade, and yet the Minister has chosen to sideline the lived experience of our members in favour of a report supported largely by evidence provided directly by those who we consider to be at fault, including the Trust and Public Health Agency.”
Ladies with Letters have said that the fight is far from over and that they will not allow the issue to be swept under the mat.
Tracey Bell added: “The Minister had an opportunity to assist us with this by establishing a public inquiry. Instead, the effect of his refusal is to place the burden of truth recovery on the victims of this scandal, who must now devote time, resources and further distress to pursuing contentious litigation, regulatory complaints and inquests.
“We believe the Minister has abdicated his responsibility, not only to our members, but to all women and girls in Northern Ireland today.”
Meanwhile, TUV Cusher Councillor Keith Ratcliffe commented: “TUV was the first political party to call for a public inquiry into the ladies’ letters scandal, and we remain firm in the view that one must be held.
“Nothing short of a full inquiry under the terms of the 2005 Act will provide the answers that are needed in this scandal.
“Such an inquiry would be independently chaired by a judge, involve multiple public hearings, have the power to compel documents and witnesses, and result in the publication of a comprehensive report into what happened.
“Yes, it is an expensive process, but it is the only way to rebuild confidence in the system, hold people accountable and bring justice for the women impacted.
“We are talking about thousands of women and families, including those who have lost loved ones.
“No one will be satisfied with today’s announcement. It looks like the system closing ranks and running away from confronting the real issues.
“Tellingly, the Health Minister made this announcement on a day when the Assembly was not sitting. As a result, he avoided immediate scrutiny of the decision in the Chamber.
“My party colleague has already been in contact with the Business Office in an attempt to ensure that the Minister appears before MLAs on Monday to answer questions on this matter.”
