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Six women to undergo fresh breast cancer testsEithne Donnellan, Health Correspondent found at ireland.com/
Six patients who attended for breast cancer scans at the Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise will now have to wait until next week before it can be determined whether or not they were given a correct diagnosis. The Health Service Executive confirmed last night that following a review of their files it had been decided that they should undergo a fresh assessment at the breast clinic of Dublin's St Vincent's hospital. Appointments have been arranged for them for later this week. The six were among a group of 19 patients who remained to be reviewed after it emerged on Friday that seven women who attended the Portlaoise hospital for mammograms between November 2003 and August 2007 had wrongly been given the all clear. An eighth woman who presented for further tests herself at St Vincent's after the review of about 3,000 mammograms at the hospital was announced by the HSE at the end of August has also been diagnosed with breast cancer. She had been given the all clear at Portlaoise in July. The HSE has apologised to the women for their delayed diagnosis. Margaret Murray, a mother of five from Tullamore, Co Offaly, is one of the six now needing further assessment. She is due to have tests at St Vincent's at 11.45am tomorrow. "I am very worried . . . because my mother had breast cancer before and I know what she went through," she said. Meanwhile, it emerged yesterday that the radiology department at Portlaoise hospital had written to hospital management last December pointing out that the mammography equipment was old and there was a risk its poorer images could result in tumours being missed, leaving the hospital open to litigation. The letter advised that a digital imaging system rather than a film system was required. The HSE acknowledged that staff had expressed concern about the quality of images produced by the machine but said it was satisfied the equipment "operates within normal quality assurance standards". It also said the original images from the machine were used by the review team to establish if women had been misdiagnosed. The consultant radiologist responsible for reading the 3,000 mammograms which were reviewed has been sent on administrative leave by the HSE. It has emerged she did not have specialist training in the reading of breast scans. She was a general radiologist who took up the job in 2003. While there was no double reading of mammograms at the hospital, as would be done for example in the BreastCheck service to reduce the risk of error, the HSE said last night that double reading of mammograms "is not a requirement" at symptomatic breast disease centres. Taoiseach Bertie Ahern told the Dáil what happened at Portlaoise was not a systems failure. He said a report of the review team would be available at the end of the month. © 2007 The Irish Times
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