THE THREE reports into the breast cancer misdiagnosis scandal at Portlaoise hospital are expected to be published tomorrow.
Legal issues relating to one of the reports have been resolved and the Health Service Executive (HSE) and Department of Health say their publication is imminent.
According to informed sources, the small group of women directly affected by wrong diagnoses will need to be informed first. But in the absence of any last-minute hitches, the reports will be published tomorrow.
The reports, which were originally due at the end of November 2007, will provide the first official accounts and findings in relation to the circumstances which led to nine women being wrongly diagnosed as being free of breast cancer.
The report, which was delayed because of legal issues, was conducted by consultant radiologist Dr Ann O'Doherty of BreastCheck. It was based on a clinical review of 3,000 mammograms read at Portlaoise hospital.
The Department of Health will publish the other two reports. The first was an inquiry carried out by a group led by Ann Doherty, head of the HSE National Hospitals Office.
This reviewed the decision to suspend the breast radiology services at Portlaoise hospital and the decision to place one of its consultants on administrative leave.
The final report was by John Fitzgerald, former Dublin city manager. It looked at the management of events by the HSE following its decision to suspend breast radiology services at Portlaoise.
Minister for Health Mary Harney yesterday said she had been in possession of both the Doherty and Fitzgerald reports since last Tuesday evening.
Ms Harney said she had spent the weekend studying the findings. "Certainly it won't be sitting on my desk very long . . . I'm not in a position to tell you now when it's going to be published, but its publication is imminent," she said.
Meanwhile, former Fianna Fáil minister Mary O'Rourke yesterday harshly criticised the HSE, describing it as a "mystery wrapped up in an enigma". She also said its usual method of communication was to unfold "incomprehensible jargon".
Speaking on Newstalk's Lunchtimeshow, she said: "They don't seem to be responsible to the Minister, they don't seem to be responsible to the Department of Health; they're certainly not responsible to us as elected Dáil people.
"They have been given huge powers, and we gave it as politicians, and we shouldn't have had, because the powers and the cash are impenetrable and one can't get at what is happening."
Her comments came less than three weeks after she criticised the Department of Education over applied behavioural analysis education for children with autism.