Major review of cervical screening 

As reported by BBC News, around 17,500 women in Northern Ireland will have their smear tests re-checked due to flaws in previous screening, with some set to be recalled for new tests following a critical report

The Southern Trust said that the women affected should receive letters by post from Tuesday.

It follows a highly critical report commissioned by the Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath).

It found:

• Several cytology staff were “significantly underperforming”
• Mechanisms to check their work were flawed
• Action taken by management was inadequate over many years
• While a majority of negative results issued by the laboratory were correct, a “significant number” of these would likely have been identified as “potentially abnormal” by other laboratories

While the Southern Trust says it is reviewing the cases of some 17,500 women, the report actually recommends that those women considered most at risk should be recalled so they can be reassured by a negative HPV test.

Broadly, these women are those who had a negative or inadequate result during the 13-year period of the review and have not had any tests since.

The Southern Trust did not follow up this recommendation as it does not currently have the resources to carry out repeated smear tests for these women as there is already a backlog across Northern Ireland.

BBC News NI also understands that the trust is in contact with the family of one woman who recently died from cervical cancer and another woman who is receiving palliative care.

The Department of Health called the report’s findings “clearly unacceptable”.

Dr Steve Austin, the trust’s medical director, has apologised for what has happened and for the “stress and anxiety” caused to women.

He told BBC News NI that there have been ongoing issues with underperforming screeners and that how it was managed “simply wasn’t good enough”.

A freephone helpline – 0800 9520255 – for those affected has been set up. It will be available Monday to Friday from 9.00-18.30 BST, and from 10.00-16:00 on Saturday and Sunday.

A woman who had to undergo a radical hysterectomy in the Southern Trust in 2019 because of screeners missing abnormal cells in three different smear tests said the latest development was “shocking and worrying”.

Last February, the woman told her story as part of a BBC News NI investigation into cervical screening at the Southern Trust.

While the Southern Trust has insisted only a few women may be impacted, they should not have been placed in this position in the first place, said the woman.

While last February she had been hesitant about speaking out, she was glad she did as lives may now be saved.

The Public Health Agency (PHA) said laboratories are all performing within required standards and “there are no similar concerns regarding other labs carrying out this work”.

It said processes are in place to monitor this and quality assurance processes are kept under review.

The PHA added that while no screening programme could detect all abnormalities, Northern Ireland’s screening programme was “very effective”.