§ Lord Bleaseasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will indicate the current time taken to obtain the laboratory results of cervical smear tests for each of the health board areas in Northern Ireland.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Northern Ireland Office (Lord Lyell)In each health board area in Northern Ireland diagnostic and other priority cervical smears are processed within two weeks. In the Eastern, Western and Southern Boards the results of routine cervical screening smear tests (including those requiring further investigation) are at present made available within six weeks. In the Northern Board area, routine smear tests are normally processed within a six-week period but because of temporary staff shortages a small proportion of smears requiring further investigation can take up to 11 weeks.
§ Lord Bleaseasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will indicate the reasons for the delay in Northern Ireland in establishing the proposed central computerised call and recall cervical cancer screening programme and when it is hoped this service will be fully operational.
§ Lord LyellThis programme is already operating on a limited basis. It cannot become fully operational until the laboratory services have been expanded and additional staff trained to cope with the expected increase in the number of smears being examined. The computerised call and recall element of the programme will be phased in as laboratory capacity increases, and all boards should be covered before the 1079WA end of the year. From next month the computerised system will be used to issue the results of all screening tests.