Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE HSE HAS confirmed that 1,000 smear tests expired due to the CervicalCheck backlog, and that the women affected needed to be retested.
These samples expired after smears were not transferred onto laboratory slides within the six-week timeframe. This was caused by a “high demand on resources” in laboratories as a result of the free repeat smear tests announced last year.
Around 82,000 smear tests are still currently being processed by laboratories; this compares with a previous figure of 23,000 before the CervicalCheck controversy.
Yesterday in response to questions by Fianna Fáil leader Mícheál Martin, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that because of the backlog, some smear tests expired due to the CervicalCheck backlog, but didn’t give the exact number of samples affected.
Today, the HSE confirmed that around 1,000 smear tests expired due to the backlog – this is separate to the announcement earlier today that 6,000 smear test samples had to be repeated due to some samples held by US laboratory Quest Diagnostics expiring.
These 6,000 smear tests will need to be repeated in relation to an error in the second part of the smear test examination, which is carried out if abnormalities are identified. It’s recommended that this testing is done within a 30-day window, but it was discovered that this didn’t happen in 6,000 cases.
The HSE was notified of the error in November; the Dáil was told today that the 6,000 women affected would be notified next week.
This evening, the HSE told TheJournal.ie that a second group of women will need to have a repeat smear examination.
In a statement, the HSE explained that smear test samples must be sent to the laboratory and made into slides within six weeks of the smear test date. After six weeks, the sample is deemed expired and cannot be processed.
“Transferring slides to samples in this timeframe was being achieved by the laboratories used by CervicalCheck until they experienced a high demand on resources following the announcement of free repeat smear tests in April 2018,” the HSE said.
“In some cases, the increased volume resulted in a delay transferring samples to slides.”
Due to this backlog, a very small proportion of the overall samples had expired before they had been transferred to slides for testing. Repeat testing was required in about 1,000 cases.
CervicalCheck has been in touch with women about this and with their GPs, and sincerely apologises to all women whose screening test results have been delayed. We assure them that we are making every effort to improve the situation.
Earlier this month, Health Minister Simon Harris told the Dáil that the rate of expired samples and vials was 0.29% between April and October 2018.
This compares with 0.25% for the same period in 2017, he said.
Free test
In order to reassure women of the integrity of the smear test screening programme, Harris announced that from 1 May 2018, women who had availed of a CervicalCheck smear test were able to get a second test free of charge to alleviate concerns women had about the results they had received.
This significantly increased the volume of smear tests being requested and processed.
The increase is due to a number of factors: the announcement of out-of-cycle smears, or free repeat smear tests; an increase in the number of women attending their regular smears; and an increase in colposcopy referrals, which could be related to the increase in smear tests.
There is currently a 22-week wait for smear test results; this compares with a 2 – 4 week wait before the CervicalCheck controversy or the announcement of free repeat smear tests.
In October, Simon Harris was warned by officials that the delay in results was “intensifying concern” among women and that after the publication of Dr Gabriel Scally’s report, there was “no clinical rationale for the continued provision of out-of-cycle smears”.
In that same month, a gynaecologist in the Mid-West wrote to Simon Harris to warn him of the pressure the health system was under, saying that there had been a delayed diagnosis in their colposcopy unit due to the surge in demand caused by the free repeat smear tests.
In June, two months after the announcement of free repeat smear tests, the CEO of the company that runs the Sandyford lab, which examines 50% of cervical smears, wrote to Harris to warn him that the increased demand was putting the CervicalCheck programme “in jeopardy”.
Cervical Check processes about 250,000 cervical screening tests each year. In 2018, an additional 84,000 women came forward for screening, due to concerns about cervical screening following the CervicalCheck audit.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
SUSI is a complete and utter shambles and lacks transparency, how could minister Quinn of got it so wrong? It is near impossible to get through to them by phone and when you do get through the operators seem to know very little, they won’t reply to you by e-mail and they are consistently making wrong decisions on grant amounts awarded! Frustrating would be an understatement :/
The online application system is a joke…
Why do we need a committee to investigate this ? Why does the minister not just contact SUSI and ask them what the problem is ? It would take one phone all and get results alot faster !
There are students who are desperate for this grant money
The problem is that for every member of staff there are 1000 grant applications. The workforce needs to be doubled if not trebled to cope, students are facing not being able to sit there Xmas exams because of it and its a joke!
Right on Mary! The “person in charge of that area in the department” should simply be asked why he ought not to be fired and forego his pensions. It would happen across the Atlantic.
@ Daryl, yes that’s right 1000 applications per staff member, and they have been at it since August. So if a staff member processed 20 per day they would have processed half the applicants by now. What have they been doing for the last 16 weeks?
It’s ridiculous that the application questions are so loosely posed, that when questions are answered honestly, it means that a re-application has to take place. The application was not thought out. It’s 2012. Not every family is a nuclear family. Separations and divorces may have taken place. Not all applicants have contact with both parents and yet any situation outside the norm of a nuclear family throws the system and operators into disarray. In my own case a re-application was necessary as a direct result of this. I hope this, being the first year of SUSI, is a teething problem and will not reoccur in future years. We’re living on Fraggle Rock …
There’s thousands of people on the dole. An extra few pound every week and these people would love a fee days work, clearing the backlog before Christmas….
A committee is going to meet to investigate why 66,000 applications cannot be processed by 65 people? For real?
The delays are (probably) officially sanctioned to deter some applicants from going on to Third Level. Pity we don’t have a breakdown of the numbers to see who these ‘delays’ are affecting.
I love conspiracy theorists. It’s never down to a plain old cluster f**k!!
@ Reg Just pure coincidence then that a Government strapped for cash should delay paying out grants!
This situation mirrors the same problems( inability for citizens to access states services and funds) that exists in the Central Rent Allowance Office. By making the application process require multiple documents from multiple state agencies it will become impossible to for applicants to meet the deadlines required, and so kick the payment day way down the road. The excuse given, that they are waiting on documentation to “complete” applications is a smoke screen. What documentation are they waiting on? What agencies provide these documents?
apply in June so that we can process ur applications quicker thats a joke every other year people applied in august and were granted or denied by the end of september but this year with the “better” system in place i applyed in june heard back in july to send in forms asked for more forms filled out a final acceptance form did it all and still waiting to hear back on weather im have been granted it or denied its not fair on us students us and our families are suffering because of it
65 staff, 66,000 applications since june, approx 10 applications per day per staff member and they would be done by now, WTF are these staff paid for if they can’t average 10 applications a day ?
I am having to work 20 hours a week and just to get me through a full time course
So?
Yeah Daragh i had too. Here is my story..and its short. I started in college in 2001 l needed money, l got a job.
I worked more than 20 hours a week to pay for my undergrad. It’s not gonna fund itself.. even with a grant.
I know I am/was not the only person who has to work like that to get through college. I am sorry I guess that I am finding it extremely hard to try juggle everything. (not that i am the only one finding it hard). My point is that if the grant system would have worked like it has done for all my friends who went through the old system then I would not be struggling. Just carry on I guess.
3 people in my class alone waiting in this
Epic Fail!
Just hire some TCO’s to work like trojans while the full time CO’s have their morning gossip.
This is a joke.. I’m still waiting.. and my fees are due to be paid soon. Nervous wreck..
Not to forget those of us waiting to get our fees paid! My college won’t issue my library card until they’re paid so you can imagine the hassle without the card!
3 people in my class alone waiting in this
The CDVEC responsible for SUSI has a 5.5 million budget per year. Not exactly the best investment. There is huge distress on socioeconomically disadvantaged students and families and worryingly many may drop out! Great progress has been made over 15 years in increasing participation of this group hopefully this debacle won’t undermine this
is it too late to apply for the grant or where can i get more details on it?
you can still apply but at the rate it’s going you probably won’t hear back until after you’ve completed your degree.
That’s 5.5 million just to run SUSI!
have your say