An external review of the case of a mother of two who underwent a mastectomy in 2005, despite being told two years earlier by Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, that a lump in her breast was not cancerous, has found that she should have been offered a mammogram at that time.
The findings of the review of the case of Alison Kelly (47) by leading breast specialist Prof Arnold Hill have been acknowledged by both the HSE and the management of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital.
They would appear to contradict the findings of an earlier internal review conducted by the hospital, which had found that the correct assessment was made when she first presented in 2003.
Ms Kelly says she had requested, and was granted, an external review following the outcome of this internal report.
In his report, a copy of which has been seen by The Irish Times, Prof Hill notes that Ms Kelly did not attend a follow-up appointment in October 2003.
However, Ms Kelly says this was because she had flu at the time and "felt silly" to be still concerned about the lump, and feared she might have been "overreacting".
In March 2003, Ms Kelly was found to have a small lump above her left nipple. An ultrasound of her breast was conducted in May and was returned as normal. Crucially, a mammogram was not conducted at this time.
She subsequently attended the breast clinic at the hospital in January 2005, and was found to have grade three breast cancer with a five-centimetre tumour. She went on to have a mastectomy and has since rejected any further conventional medical treatment.
Prof Hill said: "I feel it would have been appropriate for her to have a mammogram in March 2003. This may have facilitated the possible diagnosis of her breast tumour at this time. This may have led to a different course of action for Ms Kelly."
A spokeswoman for the HSE and the hospital acknowledged that Ms Kelly should have had a mammogram when she first presented in March 2003, "in accordance with best practice guidelines".
"The HSE and management at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital wish to apologise to the patient," she said.
"Given the fact that this event occurred in 2003, the external clinical reviewer stated that there is no requirement to review practice in the breast clinic for this time period. If any patient had an early tumour which was not diagnosed in 2003, it is likely that they would have come to attention within a two-year time-frame."
"We wish to reassure the public that [ since 2004] all patients who are now referred to the symptomatic breast cancer unit in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, have their cases reviewed by a multidisciplinary team comprising radiology, pathology and surgery," the spokeswoman said
However, Ms Kelly last night urged any other women who may be concerned about their treatment at the hospital to make these concerns known.
She added that she had not yet received a formal apology from the hospital or the HSE.