Slides examined by fresh set of eyes – but no blame is apportioned

Was this review report another sad chapter in the CervicalCheck scandal saga?

It is an emotional time for hundreds of women and bereaved families. This latest report involved an independent review by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of slides of 1,038 women who went through the CervicalCheck screening process and developed cervical cancer.

Who commissioned the report?

Health Minister Simon Harris asked these experts in the UK to review the slides last year. It has taken a long time for it to be completed.

The purpose was to examine the slides with a fresh set of eyes and see whether the smear test result they received was correct.

What did the review find?

The review showed that, in 308 cases, the original test reading women received from a CervicalCheck laboratory was incorrect.

It failed to pick up the level of abnormalities that should have been treated.

So could some women who went on to develop cervical cancer, including a number who died, have been saved?

Yes, 106 women’s cancer could have been prevented. Another 53 could either have been prevented or diagnosed at an earlier stage.

Did any of these women die?

Sadly, 12 women have died.

Who is to blame?

The report does not apportion blame. It does not say whether the individual misreadings were due to negligence or the limitations of science. There is always a failure rate in screening. It is not perfect and it is not possible to discover all abnormalities.

If the women or bereaved families want to pursue it further, they will need to ask for their own outside expert to give their opinion. This involves going to a solicitor who will arrange for it to be passed on. A number of High Court actions have been completed and many more have yet to be heard. A tribunal to hear cases in private is also to be set up.

What does this rate of failure say about the screening programme? Should women be worried?

The experts said Ireland was not an outlier and the failure rate was on a par with the screening programme in England.

What happened to the other women like Vicky Phelan who were at the centre of last year’s scandal, are they separate to this group?

Ms Phelan is part of the 221 group of women whose slides were audited internally by CervicalCheck. It came to light only when she took a High Court case. The audit found this group had test results which when re-examined were shown to be incorrect. The scandal related to the non-disclosure of this audit.

What has happened to CervicalCheck since the scandal broke in April last year?

A report was carried out by Dr Gabriel Scally, who found the screening programme was doomed to fail.

He found various weaknesses in oversight. It has led to major changes in the way the programme is being run.

Is it still using labs in the United States to read some smears?

Yes, they are being sent to Quest laboratories in the United States but also to the Coombe Hospital lab in Dublin.

The aim is to administer a HPV test from around February. This will reduce the risk of abnormalities being missed.