‘WE’VE LOST FAITH IN TESTING SYSTEM’
WOMEN have said their faith in the cervical testing system has been shaken and are concerned about the results of previous smears in the aftermath of the Vicky Phelan case.
Siobhán Brennan said she is ‘now very dubious about the last result’ she got. The Cork woman said she always questioned the efficiency of sending tests to the US, explaining: ‘If and when errors occur, the trail of investigation is so long, with so many stages in the process.
‘From the quality of the sample taken, its safe transit outside the country, processing and evaluating the sample and then reporting it – by the time an audit is conducted, lives are lost. I would have far more confidence in samples being evaluated in the EU than the US, and CervicalCheck needs to focus on being more transparent and patient-focused.’
She said the response to the scandal from the HSE and CervicalCheck had ‘diminished my confidence in the programme completely’.
Shirley Donovan, from Cobh, Co. Cork, said the case of Ms Phelan would ‘seriously undermine’ her confidence in smear results and the cervical check programme.
‘Errors in these circumstances can cost lives,’ she said.
Other women expressed concern that while testing may reveal abnormalities, the results may be kept from them until it is too late, as was the case with Ms Phelan.
Yvonne Woods, from Glasnevin, north Dublin, said: ‘Until today I thought that if there was any issue with my smear test, I would hear about it promptly. Thanks to the bravery and determination of Vicky Phelan... I learn that this is not necessarily the case.
‘If the HSE has my name on its files... then how come it can’t ensure follow-up with people both directly and with their doctors in the case of errors? This is a life-or-death issue.’
Longford woman Sinéad Keegan previously tested as having abnormal cells, and said doctors told her they were unlikely to be cancerous – but she now worries the abnormalities were taken too lightly.
‘There is always the little worry in the back of your mind. It’s human instinct especially being a girl and because our health system is understaffed and underfunded,’ she said.
Practice nurse Irene, who works in Cork and carries out smear tests as part of her job, said the revelations had left her concerned for herself and her patients. ‘While human error happens, it’s the deception that has angered me,’ she added. The HSE recommends women receive a cervical smear test every three years from the age of 25.
The free tests are provided by CervicalCheck, which outsources some sample testing to Clinical Pathology Laboratories in Austin, Texas.