‘Ladies with Letters’ representatives, Heather Thompson and Tracey Bell have urged the board of the Southern HSC Trust to back their call for a statutory public inquiry into systemic failings, which led to thousands of smear tests having to be re-checked.
The Ladies with Letters are all women living in the Southern HSC Trust area, who received letters in late 2023, informing them their smear test slides would have to be screened again.
Speaking at last Thursday’s (November 21) Trust Board meeting, Heather Thompson told board members: “We’re here today to speak on behalf of the Ladies with Letters group.
“To our knowledge, never has there been a re-check of 17,500 smears undertaken anywhere else in the world, tests carried out by highly qualified biomedical scientists.
“Our group was set up in October 2023, shortly after receiving our letters informing us that we were part of the review.
“The group offers ladies who have received a recall letter (…) an opportunity to share their stories and to connect with others who are in a similar position, and ultimately give support to each other.
“The statistics are stark, but they do not tell the full story. The concerns of women who we represent are significant, far-reaching and largely unresolved as we stand here today.
“Some ladies have been diagnosed with both high and low-grade abnormalities, and the worst outcome of all for some ladies is receiving a diagnosis of cervical cancer.
“Some remain in limbo awaiting results, and many ladies have lost trust in the system.
“In most serious cases, women have died after being diagnosed with cancers which could most likely have been avoided, had the smear test been read correctly, and had the opportunity for early detection not been missed, very often on more than one occasion.
“The biomedical scientists responsible for reviewing cervical smear tests are bound by their code of professional conduct, as set out by their regulatory body.
“The code clearly states that registrants are accountable for failures to act in the best interests of service users.
“Serious or repeated mistakes in service user care has harmed service users, or put them at risk of harm.
“We understand that mistakes can happen, but what is more difficult to comprehend is that this was allowed to happen over a 13-year period. This brings into question the role of the Trust and the Public Health Agency.”
It was then Tracey Bell’s turn to address board members. She stated: “The Royal College of Pathologists’ report states that periods of retraining were given to the individuals concerned.
“So we think that surely their annual appraisals would have established their strengths and weaknesses within their area of work. So then, why was this never acted upon by the Trust?
“Had the screeners been reported to their regulatory body by the Trust – or even as professionals, had they referred themselves, for example, if they had workplace concerns or issues – then the wellbeing and health of ladies in the Southern Trust would surely not have been put at such risk.
“While one family in 2018 were given assurances that the death of their precious daughter, due to a misread test, would be addressed and that it would never happen again, another lady later in 2018 was having her routine smear test misread.
“Like many others in that time period, this particular lady went on to lose her life to cervical cancer this year. She also had a test misread in 2012 and also in 2015 – three misread [smear tests] altogether.
“These missed opportunities could most likely have saved these two ladies’ lives. Bearing all this in mind, the RCP report states that in 2021 robust measures were put in place.
“Why did this not happen beforehand? What was the catalyst that caused those robust measures to be put in place not earlier than this date?
“As a group, we are in communication with a growing number of ladies who have been failed and are being required to have further investigation, invasive procedures, surgery and treatments.
“We also heard from women outside of the Southern Trust area, which would suggest the issue isn’t simply confined to the Southern Trust.
“The Trust have continuously apologised for the 13 years of failings that occurred, but unfortunately, this apology comes too late for those ladies who have and will be impacted for the rest of their lives, having gone on to develop cervical cancers.
“In light of what has occurred and in the interest of public confidence and safety, we would ask that you, the Southern Trust board, fully support the Ladies with Letters’ call for a statutory public inquiry.
“Unfortunately, internal reviews and audits and reports will only allow those currently employed staff in the Southern Trust to give their account of what happened, so we feel that the time for an internal review has unfortunately passed.
“The scale and severity of the issue means that a thorough and independent enquiry is required, and while we acknowledge that other report processes are ongoing, the view of the Ladies with Letters is that these are insufficient.
“Our objective is to obtain answers for those who have suffered and continue to suffer most as a result of these failing, and to put in place measures to ensure that all potential cases are identified, dealt with, and ultimately that this does not happen again.
“And we hope that you, the Southern Trust Board, share these objectives and will back the Ladies with Letters in our call for a statutory public inquiry.”
Chair of the Southern HSC Trust board, Eileen Mullan, told the Ladies with Letters representatives: “I know you’ve mentioned how often we have said that we are sorry. We remain sincerely sorry for the anxiety that this has caused.”
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