Just over one-third of slides of women with cervical cancer have been transferred to a Government-ordered review by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists , which is supposed to have been completed by now.
The RCOG review in the UK began work last month and is now expected to finish in August, six months late, according to the Department of Health and the HSE. The delay, which was ordered in response to the CervicalCheck controversy last year, is prompting concern among women who have consented to have their slides reviewed that the two-year statute of limitations might apply before the review is completed. This could affect their ability to take a court case where misreading of slides is alleged.
Of the 1,766 slides to be reviewed, 683 have been sent to the RCOG, officials told a meeting of the CervicalCheck steering committee this week. An imaging issue that has arisen with the slides tested by one of the overseas labs used by CervicalCheck is being resolved by transferring these slides first to the Coombe hospital in Dublin and then to RCOG, the steering group heard.