TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar has said that doctors who kept information from women affected by the cervical cancer scandal should apologise in person.

Mr Varadkar spoke of the importance of the policy of open disclosure between doctors and patients in the wake of the damning Scally report on the controversy.

Mr Varadkar agreed with the the report which said the episode showed treatment of women "bordering on misogynism".

Mr Varadkar said: "There’s certainly a degree of misogyny... there is an attitude among some health care professionals and it’s a very old fashioned attitude that if something bad has happened it’s okay not to tell the patient because it wouldn’t make a difference anyway and it might just upset them more.

"That’s a really wrong attitude.

"It’s never the nurses or doctors or midwives decision to make that call.

"This is people’s health, information about their health and they have a right to know this.

"This goes well beyond CervicalCheck unfortunately and that’s what really needs to change."

Mr Varadkar said that the government and HSE have already apologised to the women.

He added: "What now should be done as recommended by Scally is women being offered individual meetings with individual consultants who had the information and didn’t pass it on to offer that apology in person."

Online Editors