Dr. Gabriel Scally:

It is an important question, and between the two of us we will try to give a precise answer. First, there is a set of criteria used to look at all the cases CervicalCheck knew about. We have slight doubts about at least one of the criteria it used, which is that there is an 18 month cut-off point, which Dr. Denton will address and explain exactly what our problem with it is. CervicalCheck made a decision as to where the areas of the screening process that needed to be looked at lay, whether in colposcopy, management, the recall system or cytology. It decided to look at that broad sweep of areas.

The 221 cases are situations where notification was sent to the laboratory that this was a case where it should do a review. A notification came back from that laboratory with the result of that review, which was then judged within CervicalCheck and the cases for disclosure were identified on the basis of there having been an alternative reading of the slide which, had it been the original reading, would have resulted in a changed pattern of management.