MORE than 17,000 women in Northern Ireland must have their cervical smear tests re-checked due to "issues" with the screening system used to analyse them.
The move follows a major review of cervical screening data collected by the Southern Health and Social Care Trust which was recorded between 2008 and 2021.
In a statement made this week the Trust confirmed that the review found “a significant number of women are likely to have had negative screening results from the Southern Trust laboratory which would have been identified as potentially abnormal by other laboratories”.
They will now review the test findings of 17,000 women who have smears with the Trust during this timeframe, some of whom will have to have another smear test.
“As a precautionary measure, the Southern Trust is to review the records of about 17,000 women screened during the period in question,” the Trust confirmed.
“The purpose of the review is to look again for abnormalities to double check that the correct information was provided.”
They added: “In the majority of cases, we will be able to review the previous smear, which is stored in our laboratory, but in some cases, we will invite women to attend for a further smear test.”
The Trust will write to all women whose records will need to be reviewed with further information, they have confirmed.
“There is no need for women to contact their GP to make an appointment for a smear test unless they have recently received an invitation to attend for one as part of the routine screening programme,” they added.
The issue was first raised in July 2022, by senior laboratory staff who notified the Trust’s management team that they had concerns about performance in some steps of their laboratory’s screening system.
The Trust then commissioned the Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath Consulting) to undertake an independent assessment of its cervical screening services from 1 January 2008 and October 2021, the findings of which were reported yesterday (October 9).
As the report was published Dr Stephen Austin, Medical Director for the Southern Trust, acknowledged the “issues” it had discovered in their laboratory and apologised to those affected.
“This report has identified performance issues in our laboratory, and we have been working with colleagues in the Public Health Agency (PHA) on a series of actions to improve both service provision and oversight,” he said.
“The Southern Trust is very conscious of the anxiety this report may cause to women.
“As Medical Director, I apologise on behalf of the Trust for what has happened.”
He added: “Today we are issuing personal letters to all of the women potentially affected. “The vast majority of women screened by the Southern Trust over this period will be unaffected and therefore if you do not receive a letter from us, your records have not been identified as needing review.”
Responding to the findings, SDLP Health Spokesperson Colin McGrath expressed serious concerns.
“Given the crucial role that regular smear tests play in protecting women’s health and detecting cervical cancer it is seriously concerning that the report from the Royal College of Pathologists has identified a litany of failings in the way the Southern Trust has handled cervical screening dating back to 2008,” Mr McGrath said.
“This report outlines how the systems were not in place to ensure that these tests were being carried out correctly and that management failed to act.”
He added: “This will cause serious worry to the thousands of women impacted by this situation and while the vast majority of women concerned should hopefully be unaffected, there can be no excuses for what has happened here.
"The Southern Trust must implement the recommendations of the Royal College of Pathologists as soon as possible and put processes in place to ensure that this never happens again.”
A Freephone Helpline has been set up to answer questions or concerns for anyone affected by the report findings.
The Freephone number is 0800 9520255 and it will be available Monday to Friday from 9am-6.30pm, and from 10am – ERpm on Saturday 14th and October 15.
