Women face smear results delays

An increasing number of women going for cervical smear tests in Nottinghamshire has resulted in delays for medical staff delivering the results.

Health officials say the increase in screening follows the death of the reality TV star Jade Goody.

It means some patients are now waiting more than the four-week guideline to get results back.

The county's director of Public Health Chris Kenny said the delay should not have any overall effect on health.

He said: "Cervical cancer is, by and large, a fairly slowly growing disease and the actual clinical difference in the actual management that a woman would encounter from having a delay of four or six weeks is not significant.

"But it is significant in terms of the anxiety that it might produce in having a delay that's too great."

In March 2008, laboratories in Nottinghamshire received 3,410 smear test samples and in March 2009, they received 6,175.

A spokeswoman for Nottinghamshire County Teaching Primary Care Trust said women were currently having to wait around seven weeks for their results.

Cancer of the cervix affects the cells lining the entrance to the womb.

By detecting early changes before the cancer has become fully established or spread, cervical screening now saves approximately 4,500 lives a year in England.