Public inquiry begins into botched pathology tests in New Brunswick

MONCTON, N.B. - An inquiry into misdiagnosed pathology tests in New Brunswick started public hearings Monday, but it will be many months before the public learns what really happened at the Miramichi Regional Hospital.

Marc-Antoine Chiasson, chief counsel for the commission of inquiry, said the investigation into pathology errors at the hospital in northern New Brunswick will be methodical.

"All of the players will be questioned," Chiasson said. "It's important we have a clear picture, not only in terms of what happened in the pathology lab in Miramichi, but the whole system and how it functions from top to bottom."

He said the first witnesses will be officials from the New Brunswick Health Department. But later in the inquiry, probably early in June, the pathologist at the centre of the review - 73-year-old Dr. Rajgopal Menon - will testify.

Menon has defended his work, calling the review "unjustified and unfair." He has also filed a civil suit against the regional health authority.

The inquiry is looking into what led the health authority to review 227 breast and prostate cancer tests diagnosed by Menon. Eighteen per cent of his readings were found incomplete and three per cent were incorrect, sparking a re-examination of the nearly 24,000 cases he handled between 1995 and Feb. 2007.

The massive review also includes about 100 cases from Menon's brief stint at the Edmundston Regional Hospital in 2002.

The New Brunswick review is one of several that have raised troubling questions about the reliability of Canada's health-care system, particularly in relation to pathology services.

At least 600 patients in Ontario are being contacted about possibly inaccurate lab tests after a hospital in Owen Sound revealed concerns about one of its laboratory doctors.

As well, hearings are underway in Newfoundland and Labrador concerning inaccuracies in breast-cancer screening.