Woman who should have had repeat smear test in February only found out last week
A woman who should have had a repeat cervical screening test in February after a smear last October couldn’t be read, only found out a week ago that she needs a retest.
It took six months for CervicalCheck to write to her telling her to go for a retest - even though the letter itself said she needed to go for a repeat smear three months after the October test.
The woman, who does not wish to be identified, received a second letter from CervicalCheck three days later, urging her to follow through on the recommendation of the first letter.
“It is important that you follow the recommendation that was given to you,” the letter said, by which point it was impossible to do so, given both letters were three months overdue.
“If you have not already done so, please contact the doctor or nurse who took your test to discuss your result and to arrange what is needed next,” the letter read.
Against a backlog of 80,000 smears, the woman said she will not be contacting CervicalCheck to organise a retest.
As she has lost all confidence in the national screening service, she feels compelled to pay for a private test.
“I no longer have confidence in the ability of CervicalCheck, the HSE, the Department of Health or the minister [Simon Harris] to deliver a competent, reliable service to women,” she said.
“It is not acceptable that women have to wait months and months for the result of their smear test. Because of this, I will be paying for a private test.”
The woman is going for a repeat smear after CervicalCheck advised that the results of her October test were “unsatisfactory or inadequate”.
When the Irish Examiner asked the HSE why they were three months late in writing to the woman to tell her she needed a repeat smear, they said: “We are sorry to hear of the concern this woman has experienced as a result of her CervicalCheck results letter and the initial delay she experienced in receiving her results. We are acutely aware of the ongoing reporting delays of cervical screening tests, and the anxiety this is causing women, and we are doing our utmost to improve these waiting times.”
The HSE said when a woman receives a result of ‘unsatisfactory or inadequate’, this means that the lab was unable to read her cervical screening (smear test) sample.
They said this usually occurs if not enough cells were collected; the cells could not be seen clearly enough, or if inflammation was present.
The HSE said: “When this occurs, we write to a woman to let her know and recommend that she has a repeat smear test in three months’ time.”
This recommendation arrived three months later in this particular case.
The HSE said they recommend to wait at least three months “because this is the minimum length of time needed for the cells in the cervix to grow back and to ensure that the woman’s GP or smeartaker can get the best samples”.
“In this context, whilst it is regrettable that results may be issued late because of ongoing reporting delays, there is no specific clinical risk in having a repeat test at six months, as opposed to three months, after the date of the initial test,” the HSE said.
