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TThe NAO said NHS management of the changes to the cervical cancer screening program had resulted in a backlog of samples due to the growing shortage of laboratory staff. The problems occurred after the staff left "looking for greater job security" after being informed that the number of labs would be reduced from 48 to nine.
This led to "a drop in performance compared to the timeout targets" and to an accumulation of samples waiting for testing, the NAO said.
His report stated: "In October 2018, there was a backlog of 98,000 cervical cancer screening samples pending testing by laboratories across England.
"NHS England told us that it was working on reducing the backlog, which had been reduced from 152,742 in March 2018 by transferring sample badysis to the country, in order to reduce the burden. which weighs on the most urgent laboratories ".
Labor MP Meg Hillier, chair of the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, said the breaches were "unacceptable" and "disturbing".
Robert Music, general manager of Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust, said: "Over the past year, many women have voiced their concerns about the delays in their results and it is simply unfair that the women are under undue stress as a result of failures in the management of the program. "
Baroness Delyth Morgan, Executive Director of Breast Cancer Now, said it was "extremely worrying" that the NHS's performance targets for bad cancer screening continue to not be met, with expectations " totally unacceptable "for some patients.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Social Services said, "Our screening programs are widely recognized as among the best in the world and we are committed to making the necessary improvements to keep our offering to world clbad patients.
"Prevention and early diagnosis of cancer are key priorities for this government. We are already working closely with NHS England and Public Health England to address the issues highlighted by this helpful report. "An independent study announced by NHS England focuses on cancer screening services. We expect this to lead to a complete overhaul of the system, so that it meets the high expectations of NHS patients. "
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