CervicalCheck samples from 180 women have expired due to capacity issue

Some of the people affected by CervicalCheck following an apology from the Taoiseach in October 2019. File picture: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

CervicalCheck samples from 180 women have expired due to a capacity issue.

After being reported in the media on Monday morning, the HSE said it was "unfortunate" that the information was made public before the women themselves could be informed.

The women affected will be informed they need to be retested.

The HSE said the capacity issue formed after the programme was expected to process almost 300,000 cervical screening tests this year. However, an unprecedented 200,000 tests were carried out in the first six months of 2021 after a surge following the Covid-19 lockdowns.

The HSE was aware in June 2021 that high sample volumes were becoming an issue and, between late June and early July 2021, samples which had not been processed in time for follow-up testing to take place were identified and a new procedure for the women affected was introduced so  they could have their follow-up test taken and their result returned.

Supports for women

At the end of last week, confidential briefings were given to key groups to ensure the HSE had supports in place for women as they began to receive their letters early this week.

Letters to GPs began issuing on Monday and letters to the women affected are to issue from Tuesday.

According to HSE modelling, about 15% of tests taken in primary care will be HPV positive and require follow-up testing for the presence of abnormal cells.

CervicalCheck clinical director Dr Nóirín Russell said the women affected would find the situation stressful but that "it's really important to state that the test being positive for HPV does not mean that the woman has cervical cancer".

She said: "It means that there's a risk factor present that we have to look at the cells, and therefore women who are affected will receive a personalised letter explaining what happened, and explaining that they need to have a repeat test performed three months after the first test to look and see what's going on with the cells, and whether or not they need a further referral onwards to a colposcopy clinic for more detailed examination."

Dr Russell added that the numbers of people who have been screened already this year has been "huge" and Covid social distancing measures had "huge capacity pressures" on the ability to get through the slides before they expired.

Sinn Féin health spokesman David Cullinane said this "obviously" should not have happened.

It's unacceptable and we need to get to the bottom of what the capacity issue is, even if the numbers are small, it’s still unacceptable.

"We knew it would be a huge level of catch-up for screening with over 100,000 and it's clear the labs couldn’t cope.

"Results should be given as quickly as possible and we have to make sure this doesn’t happen again and cause unnecessary fear."

Essential confidence maintained

Labour leader Alan Kelly said it was essential that confidence in the programme is maintained.

“It is deeply concerning that delays in the CervicalCheck screening programme due to Covid-19 has led to up to 180 women having to be retested," he said.

"If samples are expiring every month, beyond the expected norm, then it’s clear there isn’t enough capacity in the system.

“A full and clear explanation is needed as to why samples that needed to be examined after the detection of HPV were delayed in any way. 

"With a further backlog likely due to the pandemic, it is really essential that capacity is expanded to prevent this happening again. If social distancing is limiting throughput then we should consider what solutions can be found to address that capacity constraint.

“Clear communication is needed with the women impacted, and measures must be taken to once again restore confidence in our screening programme.”