Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 January 2019
306. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health the reason women, particularly in counties Cavan and Monaghan, are waiting in excess of four months for the cervical screening results; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3739/19]
View answerIn May 2018, I asked CervicalCheck to make the necessary arrangements to provide that any woman who had a CervicalCheck smear test, and whose GP considered that they should have a further test, can access such a further test without charge. This decision was made in good faith to address the considerable fears of the many anxious women in Ireland as a result of significant media coverage of the issues that emerged in late April.
In the months since then, there has been a significant increase in the volume of women presenting for smear tests. This includes women who have availed of the out of cycle tests, but also a greater number of women presenting for scheduled screening.
This increased level of engagement with the programme is very welcome. However, the increased demand has undoubtedly put immense pressure on lab capacity and the HSE has advised that, currently, results of smear tests may take up to 22 weeks from the time of the test. Although many results are returned in less time, some may take longer.
The HSE has been working actively with the labs to manage this issue and to improve turnaround times for smear tests. The HSE reports that laboratories have agreed to undertake additional recruitment, provide for overtime and manage annual leave in an effort to minimise the backlog. In addition, the HSE is aiming to source additional screening capacity, which would improve the turnaround time of results. However, sourcing capacity and resources is a global challenge as countries start to move to primary HPV screening, which vastly reduces the requirement for cytology screening staff.
The HSE is currently developing a capacity plan to take account of available capacity and expected demand, with the aim of bringing the programme into stabilisation this year. This is a priority concern for my Department and the HSE.
