Political pressure is mounting on Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital as it continues to review the histopathology results for over 1,000 patients. The development has been met with "deep shock" from local TDs, who are demanding answers and full transparency from hospital management.

Labour TD Ged Nash wrote to Hospital Manager Gary Keenan, requesting a full briefing on the situation and stressing that patients must be contacted "openly, transparently, compassionately and sensitively."

Deputy Nash also outlined a series of questions he wants answered:

• Was the review prompted solely by the hospital's quality assurance process, or were other concerns raised independently?

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• What is the current status of the consultant involved?

• Are there any similar reviews currently underway into the actions of any other doctors at the hospital?

• When were management and the HSE first informed of the issue?

• What supports will be provided to the patients affected?

Louth TD Expresses "Utter Shock"

Fianna Fáil TD for Louth, Erin McGreehan, also expressed her "utter shock and disbelief" at the news, stating that her thoughts were with the affected patients and families. "This should never have happened," Deputy McGreehan said.

"It will understandably cause significant distress and anxiety for those impacted... What they are going through is unacceptable, and we must make certain that such failures do not happen again."

Hospital Confirms Review and Results

The hospital has confirmed that 500 of the 1,000 reviews have been completed. So far, four patients have been invited to open disclosure meetings to discuss changes to their biopsy results.

Of these cases, two relate to the miscategorisation of pre-cancerous cells, while two other patients experienced a 12-day delay in their treatment plans. The hospital also noted that an additional, unnecessary biopsy was performed in one case.

The hospital will also write to several dozen patients to explain a variance between their original test result and the new review, adding that in none of these cases is any change in their management required.

The National Screening Service has confirmed that some of the samples are cervical biopsies from the hospital's colposcopy unit.

The review of these samples found that while a small number of patients had differences between their first result and the new result, no cancers were missed or found during the review.