Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 July 2019
1635. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health the time for which women in counties Cavan and Monaghan have been waiting on smear test and CervicalCheck results to return to their general practitioners; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33653/19]
Amharc ar fhreagra1636. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health the number of women in counties Cavan and Monaghan waiting on smear test results; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33654/19]
Amharc ar fhreagra1637. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health the number of women in counties Cavan and Monaghan who availed of the CervicalCheck scan since 2018 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33655/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 1635 to 1637, inclusive, together.
Regrettably, lab turnaround times for smear test results increased significantly during 2018 as a result of both out of cycle smears and greater uptake generally. However, the programme is now back to normal call-recall procedures and lab turnaround times are improving. As of 30 June, two laboratories, Quest Diagnostics and the Coombe, are processing tests in five weeks or less and the backlog of tests in MedLab has been reduced significantly, by more than 50%, and is now down to approximately 21,500, from 55,000 on 1 May last.
In relation to the specific data requested by the Deputy, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to her.
