Woman who helped expose CervicalCheck delays says return of service 'needs to be prioritised'

The woman who helped expose test result delays in the CervicalCheck programme due to an IT glitch has criticised delays in resuming smear testing and calling for the return of the service to be made a priority.

Smear tests for cervical cancer were paused in March amid the Covid-19 pandemic and, along with other screening services, is yet to return.

Doctors, patients and campaigners have expressed concern at the delays in getting the service back up and running as women wait to have smears examined by the service.

Sharon Butler Hughes, the woman who helped expose test result delays in the CervicalCheck programme due to an IT glitch that affected thousands of women, called for the return of the service to be made a priority.

“It’s such a vital service for all women in Ireland and it was stopped back in March,” she said.

“The country is opening back up with McDonald’s, Woodies and more reopening but this vital service hasn’t.

“Of course, it should be done safely and within the Covid-19 guidelines, which I believe it could be, along with Breastcheck and other crucial services,” she added.

“But to not have it open at all for months and for there to be no end in sight is very difficult, particularly after many campaigners went through so much to try to make the service better.

“The main recommendation in the MacCraith report was to put women first and that is certainly not what is happening here.”

Ms Butler Hughes called for the HSE and government to ensure the timely return of the service.

“It really upsets me that, after everything, this is where we’re left and that it takes campaigners to come back in and highlight the importance of the service once again.

“This is something that should be driven by the government and the HSE as a matter of urgency, not something that we have to remind them of,” she said.

Ms Butler Hughes’ personal story is included in the rapid review report, which was published last August, and from which she has since withdrawn.

The incident occurred when Ms Butler Hughes, who was diagnosed with precancerous cells more than a decade ago, went for screening towards the end of 2018.

When she did not receive her test result, the Dublin woman made a series of phone calls to CervicalCheck and the Department of Health between March and June last year.

Eventually, it was discovered that an IT glitch at the Quest Chantilly lab in the US was the reason for the delay. The discovery led to a rapid review into the matter which found that 4,088 women were impacted by the glitch.

Ms Butler Hughes’ persistence in the matter led to the review and the discovery that thousands of women had been affected.

In response to the calls to recommence cancer screening, a spokesperson for the HSE said the health service is treating it as a priority and that restart dates for screening are to be announced by the end of this month.

The spokesperson explained there is to be “extensive modifications” made to screening units and once approved, screening invitations will be issued on a phased basis according to priority.

“Any recommencement is underpinned by the assumption that there will be no worsening of the Covid-19 situation and restrictions will continue to ease.”