'It's not good enough' - Woman, 38, with incurable cancer receives HSE apology

RTÉ News​

2 days ago

A 38-year-old woman who has incurable cancer has received an apology in court from the HSE over the "failings" that occurred in two smear tests which "led to" her diagnosis.
The apology was read out in the High Court as Leona Macken and her husband Alan settled their legal action against the HSE, arising from what they said were failures in the CervicalCheck screening programme in 2016 and 2020.
The High Court heard how Ms Macken, a mother of two young daughters, now has incurable metastatic cancer.
The court heard how the hair stylist from Dublin was diagnosed with stage three cervical cancer in June 2023 and underwent radical surgery followed by postoperative chemoradiotherapy.
Despite intensive treatment, recurrence of her cancer was diagnosed in March 2025 and has advanced to stage four.
Medical expert evidence that was given as part of Ms Macken's case indicated that her 2016 and 2020 smear tests by Quest Diagnostics should not have been reported as negative and concluded that the delay in identifying pre-cancerous abnormalities directly resulted in her developing cervical cancer.
A letter was read to the court from Fiona Murphy, Chief Executive of the National Screening Service, who stated that on behalf of the HSE and the National Screening Service, she wished to apologise to Ms Macken, her husband Alan, her children and extended family.
"I wish to express our deep regret to you and your family and acknowledge the many challenges that you have faced as a result of your diagnosis."
An undisclosed settlement was made for damages.
The "courage" of Ms Macken was commended in what was described in court as a "truly tragic case".
Mr Justice Paul Coffey said he was pleased that the case was concluded in "a timely way".
Speaking outside the court afterwards, Ms Macken welcomed the apology made "after two misdiagnosed smears".
"I've been fighting this since 2023. I knew that things didn't add up," she said as she sought information on her smear tests following her cancer diagnosis two years ago.
"We are told to trust the process. Something is not working in the system," she said. "Something needs to be fixed. It's not good enough."
She also highlighted the toll this has had on her family saying she does not know what her daughters' future is going to look like because of this.
Her solicitor Cian O'Carroll said Ms Macken's case is tragic but could have been avoided as he outlined the "negligent errors".
He said while there will always be errors of a certain type in the National Screening Programme, in Leona's case, they were "negligent and unacceptable".