Vol. 475 No. 1
35 Miss Coughlan asked the Minister for Health the action, if any, he proposes to take to ensure the free nationwide smear testing service operates properly in view of the fact that the current backlog means the Coombe Hospital in Dublin 8 will not accept routine smears from general practitioners for three months. [4353/97]
Limerick East): Although one hospital laboratory is not currently accepting cervical smear tests all of the other laboratories are continuing to accept and process these tests. I am aware that in a small number of hospitals the waiting period for the reporting of routine cervical smear results has been in excess of the recommended interval of one month. I must, however, emphasise that urgent or special cases are dealt with immediately. The Department of Health is currently addressing the need for additional posts including cytoscreeners for cytology laboratories and in addition wherever possible the time of staff employed on a part-time or sessional basis is being increased to bring about an immediate improvement in the reporting of cervical smear results. My Department is also discussing with a number of hospital authorities the capacity of their laboratories to process additional smears and the resources required.
