€20,000 to be paid to women affected by CervicalCheck non-disclosure

Irish women affected by the non-disclosure of the CervicalCheck audit are set to receive an ex-gratia payment of €20,000, says Minister for Health Simon Harris

At least 120 women in Ireland will receive an ex-gratia payment of €20,000 each from the Department of Health, following the recent CervicalCheck scandal.

CervicalCheck Scandal

In 2018, it was revealed hundreds of women in Ireland were affected by the CervicalCheck controversy; whereby they underwent a cervical smear but weren’t given the accurate results.

In 221 cases, the women went on to develop cervical cancer and sadly, more than 20 of them have since lost their lives, while others are continuing cancer treatment.

The scandal, which was brought to light by Vicky Phelan, led to a clinical audit of the women’s original results. This audit found contradictory results but most of the women were not told.

What’s more, a number of these women could have undergone a different treatment plan had their results been accurately shared.

Ex-gratia payment

On Tuesday, the Minister for Health Simon Harris confirmed that women affected by the non-disclosure of the CervicalCheck audit will receive an ex-gratia payment of €20,000.

This figure was determined by an independent panel, at the request of Simon Harris, and the first payments are set to be made shortly.

If a woman affected by the CervicalCheck scandal has not yet applied to the scheme (which will determine whether or not there was a case of non-disclosure), they still have time to do so. The Department of Health have assured women involved that the scheme remains open.

Photo: Vicky Phelan via Twitter 

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