Speaking this morning Sinn Féin health spokesperson, Deputy Louise O’Reilly, has called on the Minister for Health to brief the opposition on the results of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists review into smear test results by the CervicalCheck programme.

Teachta O’Reilly said:

“There have been a number of reports in the media today regarding the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) review which re-examined the slides of over 1,000 women who were tested under the CervicalCheck programme.

“It is important now that the full facts of the review are established and any leaking of the results to the media are stopped.

“The initial reports are, however, quite worrying in that large numbers of previously missed abnormalities have been uncovered through the course if the review.

“Indeed, if the reports are correct that a significant number of women screened under CervicalCheck were given the all-clear and later developed cancer, then this is another worrying development to a scandal littered with tragedy.

“As public representatives we have a duty to uncover the truth about what went wrong within the CervicalCheck programme, but we also have a duty to ensure confidence is maintained in public health services such as the current cervical screening programme, but to do that we need to be briefed on this report as a matter of urgency.

“The Minister for Health needs to brief the opposition on the results and the contents of the RCOG review today, and any drip feeding of the report to the media must stop.”