In a new development over the treatment of cancer in the midlands, the Minister for Health Mary Harney has confirmed that the work of at least four people is being investigated.
A PD spokesman also confirmed that the minister told the Dáil this evening that 3,000 mammograms represented the work of two Consultant Radiologists, and at least two locums, and these were being investigated.
The Health Service Executive has meanwhile said the review of radiology breast diagnosis at the Midland Regional Hospital at Portlaoise involves all mammograms carried out in the period from November 2003 to August 2007 inclusive, irrespective of who carried them out.
It says the review, which is led by Consultant Radiologist Dr Ann O'Doherty, is to be completed and published at the end of this month.
Elsewhere the doctor who chairs a Government expert group on cancer standards has said the Taoiseach was not correct in his description today of when specialist triple assessment for breast cancer begins.
Professor Niall O' Higgins said that the system starts after a patient is referred by a GP to a clinic because of concerns over breast cancer symptoms.
The Taoiseach had told the Dáil that the system only applied after a cancer has been diagnosed.
Dáil debate
Earlier today Bertie Ahern also rejected what he called the Opposition's attempts to castigate the entire health service.
Answering questions from Opposition leaders about breast cancer misdiagnosis at Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise, Mr Ahern said he could not come into the Dáil and stand over every single person employed by the HSE.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny urged Minister for Health Mary Harney to issue an immediate instruction that every mammogram should be read by two qualified staff to prevent errors.
Amid the emerging cases of misdiagnosis at Midland Regional Hospital, the Government agreed to greatly extended time for a debate and questions on cancer services in the Dáil today.
A one-hour debate was followed by questions had been initially proposed, but the time allocation was lengthened to three hours followed by a full hour of questions.
In her statement to the Dáil, Ms Harney offered an unreserved apology to the women who have been caused 'needless anxiety' since August.
In relation to the equipment at the hospital, Ms Harney told the house that the HSE said the latest independent routine inspection report on the machine, dated 18 May, indicated that the machine was satisfactory and did not include any identifiable faults.
Ms Harney said the most pertinent fact about the equipment is that the review being undertaken at the moment is based on the images taken by that equipment, and the mistaken diagnoses are evident to the expert eye reading those images themselves.
The Minister said that three consultant radiologists have been involved in reading the same images and have found indications of cancer.
Cases awaiting review
Ms Harney also told the Dáil that at the beginning of this week, 19 women were still to be reviewed.
Of these, 13 are clear of cancer while six have been referred to the special clinic at St Vincent's University Hospital.
Earlier, the Fine Gael leader said that in April 2001 the then Minister for Health, Micheál Martin, had given a commitment that a centre of excellence for cancer services would be set up in the Midland Regional Hospital at Portlaoise.
Mr Kenny said this included a triple assessment system in the diagnosis procedures for breast cancer, which he said was never implemented.
The Taoiseach conceded that the triple assessment mechanism had not been implemented.
Mr Ahern said the triple assessment procedure would only apply where cancer had already been diagnosed.
Yesterday, Ms Harney said it was important to ensure that the misdiagnosis of patients with breast cancer at the Midland Regional Hospital at Portlaoise could never happen again.
Speaking on RTÉ's Prime Time programme, Ms Harney said that there had been an inspection of the mammography equipment in the hospital early last year.
