'Clearly unacceptable': About 17,000 women in Northern Ireland to have smear tests re-checked as Southern health trust apologises 'for what has happened'

The trust said that some women will have to be recalled to have their tests taken again.

A report from the Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath) found that while the majority of negative results issued by the trust’s laboratory screening service were correct, a significant number of women are likely to have had negative screening results which would have been identified as potentially abnormal by other laboratories.

The Southern Trust runs Craigavon Area Hospital, Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry, Lurgan Hospital and South Tyrone Hospital as well as Armagh Community Hospital and St Luke’s Hospital in Armagh.

In what the Southern Trust called a “precautionary measure”, records of about 17,000 women screened between January 1 2008 and October 2021 will be reviewed. The purpose of the review is to look again for abnormalities to double check that the correct information was provided. In the majority of cases, the trust said, they will be able to review the previous smear, which is stored in the laboratory, but in some cases women will be invited to attend for a further smear test. Women whose records will be reviewed will be contacted with further information.

The cervical screening programme looks for changes in cells which, without treatment, could develop into cancer.

In July 2022, senior laboratory staff notified the trust’s management team that they had concerns about performance in some steps of their laboratory’s screening system. The trust commissioned the Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath Consulting) to undertake an independent assessment of its cervical screening services.

Dr Stephen Austin, medical director for Southern Trust, said the report identified “performance issues” in the laboratory.

“We have been working with colleagues in the Public Health Agency (PHA) on a series of actions to improve both service provision and oversight,” he said. “The Southern Trust is very conscious of the anxiety this report may cause to women. As medical director, I apologise on behalf of the trust for what has happened.

“Today we are issuing personal letters to all of the women potentially affected. The vast majority of women screened by the Southern Trust over this period will be unaffected and therefore if you do not receive a letter from us, your records have not been identified as needing review.

“A Freephone helpline has been set up to answer questions or concerns. The Freephone number is 0800 9520255 and it will be available Monday to Friday from 9am to 6.30pm and from 10am to 4pm on Saturday 14 and Sunday October 15 2023.”

Dr Austin added that the trust “fully accepts” the recommendations of the RCPath report.

“We are working with the PHA and Department of Health to implement them in full and at pace. Most of the recommendations have already been implemented and work is well under way to implement the remaining recommendations,” he said.

Dr Joanne McClean, director of public health at the PHA, urged women who are invited for cervical screening to attend their appointment as normal.

“Cervical screening has proven to be very effective at detecting early abnormalities which, when treated, can prevent cancer and save lives,” she said. “It will continue to do so if those who are eligible attend for screening when invited.”

More than 1.9 million smears have been reported in Northern Ireland since April 2008, 400,000 of these were reported by the Southern Trust.

The Department of Health said the findings of the report are “clearly unacceptable”.

It said in a statement: “Northern Ireland’s cervical screening programme will be significantly enhanced by the full introduction of primary HPV testing, which is more sensitive than cytology-based screening.

“We can confirm that we are on course for full introduction of primary HPV testing by December 2023.

“Detailed work on implementing and testing the underlying IT systems is being taken forward as an urgent priority.

“This will be a new era for the cervical screening in Northern Ireland.

“It should also help facilitate the removal of the current backlog for reporting smear test results.

“The findings detailed in the report published today by the Southern Health and Social Care Trust are clearly unacceptable.

“The department is closely monitoring the actions being taken at trust and regional level in response to the RCPath recommendations.”