A woman has died following an error in the Scottish cervical screening program.
She is one of 430 women who were wrongly excluded from the program because they were believed not to be at risk.
The Scottish government has apologized for the mistake, which opponents have called “a serious public health failure”.
The error was discovered during a routine audit of cervical cancer data over the past 24 years. He revealed that a number of women had been excluded from the program following a hysterectomy procedure.
Up to five of them developed cervical cancer, one of which died.
The Scottish Government claims that most hysterectomies involve the removal of the cervix, after which cervical screening is not necessary.
However, some hysterectomies do not involve removal of all or part of the cervix, and under these circumstances a woman should still be invited for screening.
Some were not and this is where the error lies.
Scottish Women’s Health Minister Maree Todd said: “I want to offer my condolences to the family of the woman who we now know died of cervical cancer after being kicked out of the screening program.
“These exclusions from the cervical screening program should not have happened and I apologize to everyone affected by this error. I offer my sincere apologies especially to the women excluded from the program. who have developed cancer, and to Their families. “
Women who are wrongly excluded from screening are offered “accelerated” appointments.
The Scottish Government says all those known to be affected have been written and will receive a letter in the next few days if they haven’t already.
Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP, Scottish Liberal Democrats health spokesperson, said: “This is a serious public health failure. It will be deeply alarming news for women across the country and c is a tragic reminder of the importance of robust screening.
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Source: news.sky.com
This notice was published: 2021-06-24 15:32:00