Cervical tests resume with large backlog
by Mehak Dugal
 
Women who show symptoms of cervical cancer are being advised to contact their GP immediately, rather than wait for a smear.
Women who show symptoms of cervical cancer are being advised to contact their GP immediately, rather than wait for a smear.

Ireland’s CervicalCheck programme has restarted after a 17-week suspension due to Covid-19. The HSE expects cervical smear appointments suspended during the coronavirus period to be completed by the end of October, with the backlog of tests scheduled to take place over the summer expected to be cleared by next February. 

 

In the meantime, women who show symptoms of cervical cancer are being advised to contact their GP immediately, rather than wait for a smear.

 

Some 100,000 women missed a test since the service was paused in March. 

 

The introduction of HPV screening, which is expected to be more effective than the previous cytology method, is also expected to be slow the test process.

 

The HSE has also introduced new public health measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the screening environment.

 

Get more information about cervical screening during the pandemic HERE.

 

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