Records check for women excluded from cervical screening programme

15 Sep 2021 03:48 PM

Women’s Health Minister Maree Todd updates Parliament on remedying screening system issues.

The records of just under 200,000 people excluded from the cervical screening programme are to be individually reviewed to provide reassurance that their exclusions were correct.

Women’s Health Minister Maree Todd announced the measure in a statement to updating Parliament on progress in addressing errors in the screening system. This follows the announcement in June that a small number of women wrongly excluded from screening had subsequently developed cancer, one of whom sadly died.

Health boards have already written to around 600 women following an audit of those who had been excluded from the cervical screening programme and whose records show they have, or may have had, sub-total hysterectomies.

The Adverse Event Management Team of expert clinicians set up to address inappropriate exclusions from screening has now recommended that everyone who has been permanently excluded from the cervical screening programme over several decades should also have their records reviewed.

While the overwhelming majority of these exclusions will be correct, it is likely that more people will be discovered to have been wrongly excluded. This wider review is likely to take at least 12 months to complete, based on the complexity and numbers involved. 

Clinical teams have also completed a review of the cancer registry to ascertain whether there are other cases where an exclusion may have contributed to a diagnosis of cervical cancer. While it not possible to be certain, there is a high level of clinical suspicion that in one case, a woman may have developed cervical cancer as a result of an inappropriate exclusion from screening. Separately, there is another very complex case where several factors appear to have contributed to a diagnosis of cervical cancer, including an incorrect exclusion from cervical screening. In both these cases, the women have sadly died.

Ms Todd said:

“I once again offer my sincere apologies to all those affected by these errors. In particular, I extend heartfelt apologies to the women who were excluded from the programme who went on to develop cancer, and to their families. I also recognise the anxiety this will have caused to all those wrongly excluded from screening.

“I know this further review will also concern people, however, I hope I can offer some reassurance. Firstly around 95% of hysterectomies carried out in Scotland are total, and women who have had total hysterectomies do not need to be screened.

“Secondly, the risk of cervical cancer in general is fewer than 1 in every 100 women in Scotland across their lifetime. Thirdly, there are dedicated NHS staff who are committed to completing this work as quickly as possible, and to bringing all their considerable expertise to doing so.

“I recognise that people whose records are being reviewed will want and need to know how long they will have to wait for the outcomes of this review. The NHS will make sure those affected are informed about progress, and I will update Parliament as often as required.”

Samantha Dixon, Chief Executive of Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust said:

“This additional review is very welcome and every effort must be made to ensure that no woman will slip through the gaps during the investigations; this includes those who may have left Scotland since their surgery and those who have not yet responded to letters.

“While it is important to understand if opportunities to prevent this incident were missed, we must not lose sight of those affected, notably those who have lost loved ones or who are feeling anxious as a result of these announcements. Please know that Jo’s is here for you.”

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