Harney must act to ensure faulty scanners are replaced
Issued : Thursday 2 September, 2010
Statement by Jan O'Sullivan TD
Minister of State, Department of Environment, Community and Local Government with special responsibility for Housing and Planning
It almost defies belief that, three months after the disclosure that a number of pregnant women had been wrongly told that their unborn babies were dead, out of date scanners are still being used at hospitals in the north-east.
The public was rightly shocked at the disclosure in June last that a number of women had been put through this horrendous ordeal and the role that old and unreliable scanners had played in the misdiagnoses.
It now emerges that months before these disclosures a consultant obstetrician had warned that a number of scanners in the north-eastern region required urgent replacement. He described the situation as being at crisis level, as he could stand over only two of the seven scan machines operating in the region.
When this scandal became public there were assurances that action would be taken to ensure that all equipment used to scan pregnant women would be up to the standard required.
Are we really going to have to wait until more women are misdiagnosed before action is taken.
Minister Harney should take a hands on approach to this problem. She must ensure that the HSE takes immediate action to ensure that all such unreliable equipment is replaced.
