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Wednesday, 27 March, 2002, 06:27 GMT
Women to be spared smear stress
Cervical smears have helped reduce cancer rates
A new system is being introduced across Scotland which could spare thousands of women the stress of having to undergo repeat smear tests.
The initiative will change the way in which cervical cell samples are handled. The aim is to see a dramatic reduction in the number of inconclusive results. Smear tests have helped to reduce the rate of cervical cancer, which is now rare in the UK because of the success of screening and treatment programmes.
Some 24,000 women are required to repeat the test each year in Scotland, and more than 3,000 are referred for unnecessary treatment. Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm is spending almost £3m to overhaul the system. The test itself will not change - but the cell samples taken from patients will now be placed in preservative fluid. That should protect the samples and lead to faster and more accurate readings. The expansion of the initiative follows pilot schemes at hospitals in Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee and Lanarkshire. The new procedure is not yet widely used in England, but should be standard practice across Scotland by 2004. |
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