The Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise was warned ten months ago that problems with mammography equipment meant 'a huge potential for litigation', in relation to delayed or wrong diagnosis of breast cancer.
However, the Health Service Executive has said it is satisfied that equipment in the x-ray department at the hospital operates within the normal quality assurance standards.
In a letter to hospital management, seen by RTÉ News and dated 13 December 2006, the radiology department advised that to deliver the highest standard of patient care it needed an imaging system, which could produce mammograms of the best possible diagnostic quality.
The correspondence expressed concern about the age of the mammography machine and advised that a digital system was needed instead of the film system, which at times was affected by dirt from the darkroom environment.
The letter warned that poor image quality could result in the missed or delayed diagnosis of a tumour, leading to reduced prognosis for a patient, or a false positive test resulting in patients having to undergo unnecessary surgery.
Flaws on the film system meant that patients had to undergo repeat x-rays, increasing the radiation dose and discomfort for them.
'We are also concerned about the huge potential for litigation in relation to delayed or wrong diagnosis of breast cancer associated with using suboptimal imaging equipment', the letter stated.
The HSE said a routine inspection on the machine last May did not include any identifiable faults.
Meanwhile, the HSE has said that six of the remaining 19 patients who were called back for a review of breast screening will require further assessment.
These patients have been contacted and will be seen at St Vincent's University Hospital this week.
The HSE said that the final results will not be available until next week.
To date 3,026 mammograms carried out at the Midland Regional Hospital between November 2003 and August 2007 have been reviewed.
The HSE says that seven patients have so far been found to have symptoms of breast cancer.
There are to be statements in the Dáil on cancer care tomorrow morning, when Mary Harney will address the issue of shortcomings in Portlaoise Hospital.
Earlier in the Dáil, the Taoiseach indicated that misdiagnoses there may not have been due to any system failure.
Mr Ahern was pressed by Labour's Eamon Gilmore on the issue of a consultant at the hospital having been placed on administrative leave, but said he would prefer to leave the facts to the official report which will be published later this month.
