Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I would like to raise the issue of CervicalCheck. In January of this year, 4,500 women were invited to have a repeat smear. The test was ordered on foot of samples taken between 2015 and 2018 which were not tested within the 30-day recommended timeframe. Since the start of February, 2,500 repeat smear test samples have been sent to the Quest Diagnostics lab in the US. The HSE confirmed yesterday that only 200 women have received their results so far. This delay is causing undue stress and worry for a system in which women are losing confidence. Women are being informed that the test they undertook in 2015 has to be redone four years later. What plans has the HSE to deal with these unreasonable delays? The scale of the crisis seems to be running out of control. Women need to feel confident in this screening service but we are lurching from crisis to crisis.

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