Vicky Phelan and Stephen Teap sat down with Ray D’Arcy to bring him up to speed on the latest developments in the Cervical Check scandal. Vicky was diagnosed with terminal cancer following an incorrect smear result and Stephen’s wife Irene passed away last July not knowing she had been given two false negative smear test results prior to being diagnosed with terminal cervical cancer.
Stephen told Ray that since the last time he spoke to him, he has taken up a seat on a steering committee set up by Minister for Health, Simon Harris. Stephen is hoping that HPV testing will be introduced as standard and that his presence on the committee will help bring about changes that will restore faith in the system.
“It’s a good opportunity because it has all the people that can try and make this right sitting at the one table.”
Ray asked how it felt being asked to join a committee chaired by the HSE.
“It wasn‘t easy because, you know, at the end of the day, this is the system that failed Irene. And as a result, failed my two boys and I.”
He’s doing it in the hope that he and others like him will get the answers they want, he explained.
“We’ll get the answers eventually, I know that. But it’s trying to put everything right so this doesn’t happen again. I guess that’s what I needed to focus on to get myself into that room.“
It’s all about keeping the big picture in mind, he said.
“18 women are dead. Many more have been given terminal diagnoses. There’s women that have gone through the whole cancer treatment process and their lives [have been] completely re-written for them. At the end of this, if all you have is an apology and a couple of answers, is that enough? I don’t think it is anymore. We need to actually all come together and try and maybe put some sort of legacy or something where we can just ensure that this never happens again.”
Stephen is taking a legal case (which is currently the only way for those affected by the scandal to be given redress) but has faced delays in getting files and frustration along the way.
“This is money I’ve to pay upfront…there’s nothing simple about this.”
Irene’s first anniversary falls next week. Ray was curious to know if Stephen feels this advocacy is helping.
“I’m fighting for something again, you know, where I’ve been helping Irene fight for a long time...No more widowers at the age of 36. No more children motherless at the age of 4 and 2.”
Vicky told Ray she has been playing things strategically. She secured an invite to the recent garden party at the residence of the British Ambassador to mark the visit of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Her desire to go was not borne out of a deep love of the royal family, Vicky explained. She was interested in the guest list.
“I was going because I was going to see who might be there who might help our cause really, to be honest. And to have a bit of fun at the same time.”
And it paid off, apparently. Vicky got a presidential seal of approval.
“Mary Robinson called me a ‘sophisticated bad girl’. I liked that.”
The Scally Enquiry, while delayed, is ongoing. The HSE committee that Stephen sits on meets once a week. And there is an independent review of almost 2,000 test slides from women who have been diagnosed with cancer taking place at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Where does Vicky think we are at in terms of progress?
“Nowhere at the moment…I think what people mostly want is answers.“
On the delay in the review and the Scally Enquiry, Vicky has a theory.
“I think they thought we were going to go away, to be honest. They’d put these things on the long finger and kind of give you a date and then, you know, a few months down the line they probably hope the story’s going to go away and something else will take over.”
She’s eager to disprove this theory. She’s put a proposal to the Minister of Health that has a specific aim.
“We’ve been working on this proposal…for the Department of Health and the Minister to fund an independent patient support group for all of the victims of the cervical cancer scandal and he’s [Minister Harris] agreed – in principle – to do that.”
Today, Vicky and Stephen will meet Minister Harris hoping to rubber-stamp this proposal. Vicky has seen “50% shrinkage” in her tumours since starting on a new drug and seems determined when it comes to the future.
“I don’t look like someone who’s going to die, do I? I think they would like me to be on the way out. But I’m not going anywhere.”
Listen back to the full interview on The Ray D’Arcy Show here.