Politicians told to stop their 'pathetic' apologies on CervicalCheck
Government politicians should stop insulting people with their “pathetic apologies” about the CervicalCheck scandal and instead sort it out once and for all.
This is according to Stephen Teap, whose wife Irene died from cervical cancer three years ago and who has posted a series of tweets, marking the anniversary of his wife’s death.
The father-of-two said: “My message is simple and it is to (Health Minister) Stephen Donnelly and (Taoiseach) Micheál Martin and our government.
“The honeymoon period is over. You all have your lovely new jobs which you all have fought so hard to get.
“It's now time to get to work, cause we have a huge job still ahead of us in the CervicalCheck debacle.”
And referencing Leo Varadkar’s controversial comments implying the State apologized to Ruth Morrissey, who died a little over a week ago, he added: “Let's not insult anymore of those this week who are grieving with pathetic apologies.
He also said he and members of the 221+ CervicalCheck survivors group will continue to fight to “correct the wrongs of the past” for all of the women and families in Ireland.
And he urged the government: “Give voice from the ground up, support our medical professionals, support all who rely on our health care system, no more excuses.
“Cancer waits for nothing, time to prioritize the women and families in Ireland."
Introducing the thread of tweets, he said he had been very quiet over the last week as he had found it a very difficult time.
“What started with the passing of the amazing Ruth (Morrissey) last Sunday then leads to Irene's 3rd Anniversary since her passing,” he said.
He thanked everyone for all of the kind messages he has received.
“I'm always grateful for the continued support and compassion my boys and I receive, so thank you from the bottom of my heart,” he said.
“Irene was taken from this world far too early and now we know it should never have happened.
He said she had been “failed by her State, failed by the health care system she worked in and also relied on”.
Recalling her dying days, he said: “I stood by Irene for two years as she battled cervical cancer. I watched and helped her as she fought her own battle while putting everyone around her first, especially Oscar and Noah.
“In the same way as I learned from her. I too have done similar, while battling my own grief and that of my boys, have been working non-stop and uncovering the truth of what went wrong in our screening program in order to fix it.”
And he added: "The Department of Health has finally got their wishes of pretty much closing down the steering committee as a result of a new government and a global pandemic as an excuse to fall back on.
"Oversight of Scally's Report doesn't exist anymore, the tribunal has essentially collapsed and terminally ill women are still being dragged through our courts.
"Some good has to come from the misery that has been inflicted on my family and many others."
