OnMedica – News – The results of smear tests are delayed in women

Increased number of smear tests as laboratories prepare for redesign

Women may experience delays of up to several months for cervical cancer screening results, guardian reports. He says the delays result from the planned closure of dozens of labs even as a public awareness campaign launched earlier this month had triggered an increase in the number of women coming forward for smear tests.

Alison Cropper, president of the British Association for Cytopathology and consultant in biomedical sciences, said the Public Health England (PHE) campaign was launched "at the worst moment in history".

"The service is falling apart," she said.

The campaign coincides with an exodus of biomedical scientists due to a restructuring process that will bring back nearly 50 hospital screening laboratories to nine this summer.

While the quality of testing is not likely to be affected, Cropper added, the campaign's "poorly thought out" schedule may leave women frustrated, over-anxious and less likely to participate in HIV testing. ;to come up.

Cropper stated that PHE had not considered requests to change the wording of the standard filtering letters, stating that the results would be sent within 14 days, although some labs already have arrears of several months .

Laboratories are currently modifying their work methods by searching for human papillomavirus (HPV) before searching for any abnormal cells, HPV testing to more effectively detect precancerous lesions.

Later this year, the NHS will adopt a first HPV test system, which also requires less labor, and will centralize the work of nearly 50 laboratories in nine major centers, to be appointed next month. In the meantime, many small laboratory scientists who have not bid for contracts under the new system have little incentive to remain until transfer.

A senior biomedical scientist working in a small hospital laboratory that will be closed later this year told the guardian nearly half of the staff had left at a time when the number of samples entering the lab was multiplied by five. A whiteboard in the lab's tea room, which normally displays the number of samples per week, now indicates "a lot," she said.

"We respect the delay of treatment of patients, general practitioners become nervous, nurses ask us what happens," said the scientist, who wishes to remain anonymous.

"It's a complete disaster."

Ms. Cropper stated that "no one in the profession" would disagree with the decision to move to the first HPV test, but that the implementation had not been thought through.

"In smaller labs, leaving one or two people with stress has a disastrous effect," she said.

Prof. Anne Mackie, PHE's Director of Screening, said, "Screening can stop cancer before it appears, and estimates show that if everyone attended regularly, 83% of deaths could be prevented. Since the beginning of the program, about 5,000 lives a year have been saved, but the number of cervical screenings is at its lowest in 20 years. That's why we launched this campaign.

"Delays in obtaining women's results are far from what we would like, but it is important that women still undergo the test to identify abnormalities that could develop into cancer years later.

"We worked closely with NHS England to make sure the filtering system was notified in advance. It is more important to increase the number of women being screened and to prevent more deaths than to delay what was long overdue. "