Michael Harty (Clare, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I seek clarification on Deputy Brassil's question. In normal circumstances, when a woman presents to a GP or another smear taker because she is concerned about the delay in obtaining a smear test result through the system, she may be referred to the private service to have the smear taken. The result normally comes back to the GP or the smear taker who acts on the result by referring the patient to a colposcopy clinic if it indicates that this should happen. Is it now the case that, regardless of whether the smear was taken in the public or private system, when the GP or smear taker refers the woman to a colposcopy clinic, there is no barrier to prevent her from being seen in that clinic? That seems to be the issue. The private smear was received by the smear taker who acted appropriately, but the colposcopy unit decided that it was not going to accept the result because it was a private smear. That is not going to be the case in the future.