Anyone else know that the labs don't just check for HPV?

[yarncakes]

Had a discussion with my doctor over the phone about problems down below, first thing she asked was are my smears up to date and I said yes but it only said hpv negative so they didn't even bother checking my cells and she said that's not true. They DO check the cells, they check the entire sample for abnormal cells and HPV. If HPV negative and no abnormal cells show up, then they just produce a generic, automated letter stating they didn't need to check the cells, even though they actually do. I don't know whether to believe this or not but I am asking on here in case you work in the lab that checks smear tests or whether your doctor/colposcopist told you this themselves.

That's great if it's true.

No that's not true (in England) . Your GP may be a little out of date, it only changed fully a year ago. I'm currently training to do smears and I asked the training school to clarify this.

The decision to change to this process is evidence based though, at a population level it is effective. At an individual level, I can understand why people are concerned by it.

Thought it was too good to be true. I was sure it was just hpv now. I think we were a pilot area so it's been that was for a while.

I was told hpv only. (England)
Cost cutting at its finest. It’ll detect most cases, not all. That’s why it’s deemed OK. We have to stop worshipping the NHS. Not to disrespect any individual member of staff, but this organisation does not function properly. It has to be privatised IMO and it’s such a taboo thing to say but it really does need doing now.
I didn’t vote Tory. This isn’t political. It’s a fact that the NHS doesn’t function fully properly and as a nation we’re in mass denial, brainwashed by rainbows and not wanting to be horrible to hardworking fantastic staff.

I'm in Wales so maybe it is different here. It should be the same everywhere TBH.

@ekidmxcl

I was told hpv only. (England) Cost cutting at its finest. It’ll detect most cases, not all. That’s why it’s deemed OK. We have to stop worshipping the NHS. Not to disrespect any individual member of staff, but this organisation does not function properly. It has to be privatised IMO and it’s such a taboo thing to say but it really does need doing now. I didn’t vote Tory. This isn’t political. It’s a fact that the NHS doesn’t function fully properly and as a nation we’re in mass denial, brainwashed by rainbows and not wanting to be horrible to hardworking fantastic staff.

This is wrong. This method saves more lives. There was a massive high quality trial.

No screening programme will detect every case sadly, but the goal is to prevent as many deaths as possible. This way prevents more deaths than the old way did.

Thought it was too good to be true. I was sure it was just hpv now. I think we were a pilot area so it's been that was for a while

It isn’t just hpv. It hpv triage-if you’re positive they look at the cells.

But purple, “this method saves more lives” is a constraint with the number of staff, the number of labs and money. If you unconstrain that and do every sample properly then the number of lives saved is at the absolute maximum, not the maximum given our current facilities/money.

Thank you for the reassuring post. This often comes up in conversation. Glad to be wrong.

@ekidmxcl

But purple, “this method saves more lives” is a constraint with the number of staff, the number of labs and money. If you unconstrain that and do every sample properly then the number of lives saved is at the absolute maximum, not the maximum given our current facilities/money.

Well obviously. That’s true of every single aspect of health care.

This change wasn’t made for cost cutting reasons. It was made because given the resources we have (which are finite unless you want to increase taxes or charge people to use the nhs) this way is better.

Looking at the PH Wales website now, they are also using primary hpv screening. If it hasn’t been rolled out to all areas, it will be.

You can see that’s what they’re doing now in the “your results” section of their site.

phw.nhs.wales/services-and-teams/cervical-screening-wales/what-is-cervical-screening/your-results/

Purple, you have put “well obviously” re my last post.

It absolutely isn’t obvious to lots of people. And this smear issue is one tiny part of the wider problem.

If a person has some sort of medical problem, the very best way that we want to treat is is with a cheap pill that can be taken at home. Because it costs less in terms of doctor involvement, hospital beds, time for the NHS. We don’t care if it’s the optimum treatment for an individual patient anymore. This is terrible and everyone is blindly lapping it up.

We prescribe treatments according to what is on hospital protocol, not what is best for the patient. My mum was denied a cancer drug for this reason. She’s now terminal and I think the NHS as an organisation sees this as a financial win as it’s one less person to treat.

The NHS is totally broken as an organisation. We draw rainbows and make justifications for sub optimal treatment. I really feel as though I am in an alternate reality because nobody actually wants to change it and justifies it.

@ekidmxcl am sorry to hear about your mum’s situation. I don’t think anyone in the NHS would see this as a financial win. The people who deliver your mum’s care are the NHS who care. What goes on at government (NICE, DOH) is separate and that’s where the decisions re funding of cancer drugs is made.

@ekidmxcl apologies- was a bit clumsy. I mean sympathy and empathy. And NiCE separate from government etc. I just mean that on the ground of NHS, people hate these financial decisions too