Betrayed...A thread

The CervicalCheck Tribunal was established by statutory order (see below) at 00.01 this morning
DESPITE
an announcement yesterday evening by Minister @DonnellyStephen, following a meeting with @221plus reps, that its establishment would be paused

1/n
The Department of Health even issued a statement, which they shared with @221plus, to say that:

"At the request of the 221+ Group, the establishment of the Tribunal has been paused for a number of days to allow it to engage with its members"

2/n
Yet, at 6pm this evening
18 HOURS
after the Tribunal was established, we get a phone call from a DoH official to inform us that the Tribunal that we do NOT support has been established, and to tell us that the Minister and officials were unable to delay it.

3/n
The order to establish the Tribunal had already been signed by the Minister on October 21 last.

We made it quite clear last Friday, Oct 23 and again on Monday last, Oct 27 that we wanted it paused.

We were promised that would happen.

4/n
This promise was broken.

The Department, this evening, issued the following statement:

"Following a meeting with the 221+ Group on Monday...the Min for Health and Department officials formally pursued the delaying of the establishment of the CervicalCheck Tribunal.

5/n
"However, as the order establishing the Tribunal had already been signed and sent for publication on Friday 23, this could not be reversed."

The Minister should NOT have signed the order last week allowing the Tribunal to be established.

As early as last Tuesday...

6/n
the Minister KNEW that the @221plus were NOT happy with the format of the Tribunal & that we would not support it.

The Minister should NOT have signed the order.

The Tribunal is NOT fit for purpose

We have communicated the issues very clearly and what needs to happen

7/n
It is now firmly up to the Minister & Government to right this wrong and make good on the demands of the @221plus for a just and fair Tribunal.

The alternative is a Tribunal that is in danger of going the way of the infamous e-voting machines - an embarrassing & costly mistake.

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More from @PhelanVicky

21 Oct
CervicalCheck Tribunal - A v angry Thread

I am late to the table responding to the announcement in Cabinet yesterday morning by Minister @DonnellyStephen that he proposes to appoint next Tuesday, October 27 as the establishment day of the CervicalCheck Tribunal.

1/n
This announcement was made AT THE SAME TIME that the @221plus received a letter from the Minister's Office informing us that the Minister would be formally establishing the Tribunal NEXT WEEK just as the country is entering its highest level of restrictions due to Covid-19!

2/n
The @221plus women & families who this Tribunal is aimed at, were not afforded an opportunity to respond to the Minister's decision to formally establish the Tribunal BEFORE it was announced.

As we have become used to, those most affected are often the last to know

3/n
Read 14 tweets
24 Jul
In defence of Ruth Morrissey
Having listened to the Tánaiste's @LeoVaradkar attempt (below) at excusing the way that Ruth Morrissey was treated on the @TodayRadioRTE with the brilliant @SarahAMcInerney, I have the following to say:

ttps://twitter.com/i/status/1286600482685964288
Paul Morrissey, Ruth's widow, issued a damning statement following her death on Sunday stating that neither the State nor the @HSELive apologised to Ruth. This is correct. The State Apology that was delivered in October 2019 could NOT have included Ruth Morrissey...
Ruth never accepted the State apology. At the time of the apology, Ruth's legal team were in court dealing with issues concerning the Supreme Court appeal. It was insensitive of the Tánaiste to issue a statement sending his condolences but also refuting the family's statement
Read 11 tweets
20 May
Cancer screening and Covid19 – At what cost?

The Deputy CMO @ronan_glynn announced on @morningireland that he doesn’t see the resumption of cancer screening services in the ‘foreseeable future’ and advised anyone experiencing symptoms to consult their GP with any concerns.
There are a number of issues with this statement:

ONE
As far as I was aware the NPHET was established to oversee the health sector response to the #COVID19 emergency. As such, its remit is to provide direction, support and advice to Government and to the @HSELive.
I was not aware that the NPHET was responsible for making important decisions regarding the operation of our health service. I assumed that this was the remit of the HSE?

TWO
The mortality rate of Covid19 is less than 2%.
Cancer is THE biggest killer in Ireland.
Read 14 tweets
25 Apr
Accountability & Covid19 - A thread

On this date 2 years ago, Thursday April 25, 2018 I settled my court case & exposed the CervicalCheck debacle. This opened the door for other women and their families to get answers to questions about their cancer diagnosis, and, for many...
including me, to find some level of accountability for what had happened to us.

I campaigned for a review of our national cervical screening programme which resulted in the appointment of @gabrielscally & the eventual publication of the Scally Report, which marked a watershed
moment in Irish healthcare. The report produced by Dr. Scally and his team was unafraid to criticise & highlighted serious gaps in governance of CervicalCheck, huge flaws in our open disclosure policy and recommended the reinstatement of a Board to oversee the running of the HSE.
Read 10 tweets
16 Apr
#ReasonsToBeGrateful A long (but good) thread...

On this date, two years ago, on Mon, April 16, 2018, I received my first infusion of Pembrolizumab, the lifesaving immunotherapy drug that has not only kept me alive but living with a quality of life I did not think was possible
with terminal cancer.
I honestly thought that I would be spending my final months sick in bed and, possibly in a hospital or a hospice.

But, this drug has given me my life back. Apart from one stint in hospital in February 2019, I have been living my life like everyone else.
OK, I’m not running marathons or even close but I am able to get out for a walk every day and I am living my life, not waiting to die.

I made it to Orlando with my kids in August 2018 and to New Zealand last December for the holiday of a lifetime. In between, I have taken every
Read 6 tweets
7 Mar
RIGHT THAT'S IT ....A thread on why we need to postpone the St. Patrick's Day Parades

I am supporting our doctors and epidemiologists, like @ProfJohnCrown and Prof Sam McConkey and others who have called on the Government to to postpone the #StPatricksDayParade NOW... 1/6
And not in a week's time, or two days beforehand. Do the RIGHT thing now.

Yes, the economy will suffer BUT we postponed the parades in 2001 following the Foot and Mouth disease when Min for Agr Joe Walsh showed true leadership and postponed the parades until May of that year 2/6
And the economy recovered and, most importantly, the measures taken limited the spread of the disease. We must also remember that Foot & Mouth was a disease which ONLY affected livestock and famers' livelihoods. Human lives are at risk with #COVID19 yet our Government wait 3/6
Read 6 tweets

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