HSC: cervical treatment delay due to faulty device
MORE than 20 women with abnormal cervical screening results suffered delays in getting treatment due to a faulty piece of equipment, Health & Social Care has confirmed.
The delays came to light after Jess Simon, 32, contacted the Guernsey Press to say she had been waiting seven months for treatment after cancerous cells were picked up during her smear test. After repeatedly calling her doctor over weeks she discovered the delay in treatment was caused by a broken piece of equipment.
HSC has now conducted an investigation into the delays and confirmed that 24 women were affected. It also confirmed that 18 of those women were booked in for treatment and six were on the waiting list.
A spokesperson for HSC said there was now no ongoing problems with the equipment and they wanted to apologise to the women who were affected.
HSC has a free cervical screening programme that uses a state -of-the-art method for the detection of precancerous cervical changes. This method uses the detection of high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV).
For women with who have this HR-HPV detected at the time of their cervical screening, the same sample is used to look for abnormal cells.
Public health director Dr Nicola Brink said women who were found to have abnormal cells were then referred to the MSG for colposcopy.
‘A colposcopy is a simple procedure used to look at the cervix and confirms whether cells in the cervix are abnormal and determines whether the woman needs treatment to remove them,’ she said.
‘Treatment for these abnormal cells is done at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital and unfortunately the equipment used for this needed to be replaced as it was not functioning properly.
‘It is important to note that the presence of abnormal cells does not necessarily mean a cancer diagnosis, but these are women who are needing treatment for possible pre-cancerous lesions.
‘Only a small proportion of these women would go on to develop cancer without treatment.’
Dr Brink added that islanders should also consider the situation locally.
‘We have about four cases of cancer of the cervix every year in the Bailiwick and most of these are advanced cancer in women who have not undergone cervical screening.
‘It is exceptionally rare for an untreatable cancer to develop in a woman who has received regular screening.’
