§ Mr. FavellTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if, pursuant to the answers of 14 July,Official Report, column 551, he will set out in detail the cervical smear checking procedure used in the Christie hospital in respect of the smears from north Staffordshire; if the same procedure is used in respect of all samples; who carries out the routine checks referred to; and if the checks by independent advisers from other regions on the suspect slides have been completed.
§ Mrs. CurrieAll cervical cancer smear tests carried cut by Christie hospital, including those which came from Staffordshire and other districts from outside the region, are subject to two separate quality control procedures.
The first requires re-reading of one in seven of all negative readings; the second involves a continuous computerised monitoring of all smear test results to check whether an individual screener is recording more positive or negative results than would normally be expected.
The consultant pathologist in charge of the laboratory is responsible for all quality control checks which are applied to all smear tests referred to Christie hospital. The checks currently being carried out by independent advisers on a number of slides submitted by North Staffordshire district health authority are being undertaken as a matter of urgency and are likely to be completed in five to six weeks.