The
Irish Independent revealed this morning that women who are waiting months for
the results of cervical screening and are found to have high-grade
abnormalities are facing another delay of up to six weeks for further
investigation.
Health
advocate Vicky Phelan has pleaded with women to continue to go for smear tests
after it was revealed that women are facing long delays for follow-up
treatments after abnormalities are detected.
The
delays experienced in colposcopy clinics - where women with an abnormal smear
test result are referred for examination - are causing further concern as
CervicalCheck struggles to cope with a backlog of 82,000 tests.
The
delay of up to six weeks was revealed to the CervicalCheck steering group made
up of patient representatives, doctors and health officials set up following
the damning Scally report on the service.
It
means a woman who goes for cervical screening can face a potential delay of six
months before getting the test result back. And if she needs more investigation
the wait can be up to six weeks before for a colposcopy which may indicate
potential signs of cervical cancer.
This
morning, Vicky Phelan took to Twitter to urge women to continue going for their
smear tests.
"Please,
please continue going for smears and bear with the screening programme. We will
get there and we will have a programme that we can trust and one which will be
on a par with the best in the world. That is what Stephen, Lorraine and myself and
many others in the HSE are striving for," Ms Phelan wrote on Twitter.
Yesterday,
the HSE was unable to confirm what kind of triage system is in place or what
the waiting time is for women with low-grade abnormalities who are also sent
forward for a colposcopy.
It
follows revelations that 6,000 women will be contacted at the end of next week
and asked to come back for retesting.
The
women's tests were sent to Quest laboratories in New Jersey between 2015 and
2018. A standard test found they had low-grade abnormalities and a second HPV
virus test was carried out in the lab. But the HPV tests were done outside the
recommended timescale.
The
HSE said the issue poses little clinical risk and the recall is precautionary.
A
letter sent yesterday to GPs from Frances McNamara, head of screening at the
National Screening Service, said the evidence showed these tests are
"likely to remain effective outside of the manufacturer's recommended
timeframe".
It
said that "as a precautionary measure, around 6,000 women will be asked to
attend their GP for a repeat smear test".
"We
expect to issue letters to women affected, and their GPs, by late next
week," the correspondence said.
The
HSE had indicated that action is being taken to investigate the issue.
Meanwhile,
Labour Party spokesman on health Alan Kelly said yesterday there still needs to
be clarity on whether there is any prioritisation of at-risk women when it
comes to smear testing.
He
said that in early November the Public Accounts Committee was told the labs
carrying out smear test analysis could not distinguish between women getting
smear tests regularly under medical advice and women who get routine smears
every three years.
"Waiting
for any test result to come back can be anxiety-inducing but if you are a woman
who knows she is at risk and is waiting over five months for results, it can be
extremely worrying," he said.
The
221+ CervicalCheck Patient Support Group said the backlog of tests which have
built up as a direct outcome of concerns about CervicalCheck must be tackled.
"The
capacity must be found as a matter of urgency to clear the present
delays," it said in a statement.
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