Hundreds of women who went for smear test as recently as July, are facing the prospect of having to undergo another test as samples have expired.
According to The Irish Mirror newspaper, at least 87 patients face the prospect of having to undergo a re-test as some samples have expired due to the increase in demand for testing.
It is believed that of the 110 women tested in July, 87 samples expired as they did not make the laboratory on time, whilst the remaining 23 tests were expired virals that were taken by GP’s.
The Mirror say the delay in testing occurred due to the extensive backlog caused by the recent CervicalCheck scandal.
It is understood the expired samples are no longer viable as they have to be tested within six weeks.
Meanwhile the HSE have said the issue with samples expiring is common given the increased testing.
They added all those whose sample expired are immediately notified by the department.