Irish women are being reminded that CervicalCheck is ‘accepting samples and open for business’ through Level Five coronavirus restrictions.
The clinical director of the cervical cancer screening service is urging women who receive an invitation to book an appointment without delay.
On Lunchtime Live this afternoon, Dr Nóirín Russell said the measures in place to ensure appointments at GP practices and clinics are safe to attend.
“In March of last year, we were all so afraid and so unsure of what we needed to do to make sure we provided a safe service,” she said.
“I think we know a lot more about COVID-19 and transmission and how to provide a safe service now than we did at that time.
“The screening services were paused in line with public health advice and we are very cognisant of following that advice but, at the moment, I want to reassure women that we can provide COVID-safe care and we have a lot of measures in place now.
“We have spaced out the appointments acknowledging social distancing, we have PPE available and we just know a lot more about how to keep patients safe and staff safe.”
Backlog
Dr Russell said every woman who was due a screening appointment in 2020 was sent an invitation by the end of the year.
She said around 139,000 women were screened in 2020 – meaning that around 70,000 to 100,000 women who were due their screening will have to attend this year.
“What we are saying to women is, we are accepting samples and we are open for business,” she said.
“The issue we are asking women to have a little bit of patience with is the fact that, in the pandemic, GPS and practice nurse are juggling lots of other healthcare needs and it might be that they can’t do the screening test in January.
“It might be a February appointment; it might be a March appointment but what we are saying to women is, whenever you can get an appointment, please book it because we are really keen to get those 2020 women in – and we are also keen to keep going with the women who are due this year.
“The power is with the woman. She knows she is due and she has the ability to book that appointment. That is what we are asking the women of Ireland to do.”
Symptoms
Dr Russell said a delayed appointment is unlikely to have a long-term impact on outcomes; however, she warned that anyone experiencing symptoms should contact their doctor immediately.
“I would like to reassure women that what we are screening for, the abnormalities on your cervix, change very, very slowly,” she said.
“We know that it takes, on average, 10 to 15 years for pre-cancer cells on your cervix to develop into cervical cancer. So, a delay of six months or eight months is very unlikely to lead to a problem or a delay for women
“However, what I would really like to say is that any woman out there who is experiencing symptoms, such as vaginal bleeding in between periods, bleeding after sexual intercourse or indeed post-menopausal bleeding, please don’t wait for screening.
“Those symptoms could be an indicator of something serious and in that scenario, please contact your GP because you may need referral onwards for an urgent gynaecology assessment.
“However, for the well woman, with no symptoms, a short delay is very unlikely to have any impact.”
Dr Russell said she understands that people are scared with the current high levels of the virus – but noted that screening takes less than 15 minutes and there are plenty of safety measures in place.
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