An audit of CervicalCheck has revealed that half of the 206 women affected by the smear test errors controversy were not told that they may have had a delayed diagnosis of cervical cancer.

The audit has also found that more than 12 women have died, but it is unclear whether these deaths were due to a delayed cancer diagnosis. However, information is still being gathered from hospitals around the country by a HSE serious incident management team.

This review is expected to be practically completed today (April 30) and according to a statement from the HSE, ‘the next step involves contacting all of these women whom it has been found have not been contacted to date'.

The women will be contacted on Monday and offered appointments for the coming days.

Meanwhile the HSE has revealed that over 2,000 people contacted a CervicalCheck helpline over the weekend.

The Department of Health has said that any woman who has had a CervicalCheck smear test, ‘and where her GP feels she should have a further test as part of her reassurance', will be able to have one.

"The Minister for Health has asked CervicalCheck to make the necessary arrangements, including payment provision. These arrangements will be confirmed next week," the department said.

The clinical director of CervicalCheck, Dr Grainne Flannelly, stepped down from her post on Saturday evening.
She said she had decided to step down ‘to allow the programme to continue its important work' and she apologised to women who have been distressed by recent events.

The news follows a week of major controversy for the screening programme. In recent days, figures released by the HSE revealed that 206 women diagnosed with cervical cancer should have received earlier intervention than they did.

The figures were released following the controversy surrounding Vicky Phelan (43), a mother of two from Limerick, who was given incorrect cancer results and is now terminally ill.

Ms Phelan underwent a smear test in 2011 and was told that no abnormalities were found. However this was incorrect and by the time she had another smear test in 2014, she had cervical cancer.

In January of this year, she was told her cancer was terminal and was given six to 12 months to live.

Last week, she settled her High Court action against a US laboratory for €2.5 million. The settlement was made without an admission of liability.

The Minister for Health, Simon Harris, and the Tanaiste, Simon Coveney, have apologised to Ms Phelan and her family.

According to the HSE, almost 1,500 cases of cervical cancer have been notified to the cervical screening programme, CervicalCheck, since it began a decade ago. It said that while many of these cases warranted no further review, reviews were needed in almost 30% of cases.

In almost half of those cases, it is suggested that earlier intervention was needed.

Overall, 206 women with cervical cancer who had smear tests should have received earlier intervention than they did, the HSE noted. For over 170 of these women, a referral to a colposcopy might have been recommended earlier, while the remainder might have needed a repeat smear test to occur earlier.

The HSE said treating clinicians were informed about these findings and were asked to communicate with their patients directly where clinically appropriate. However, it has now emerged that this not happen in all cases.

The CervicalCheck helpline is 1800 45 45 55.