ThinPrep cervical smear test now free for Auckland

Media Release
July 1, 2009

ThinPrep cervical smear test now free to all Auckland women

Women in the Greater Auckland area will be able to get a ThinPrep cervical smear test from their doctor at no extra charge from today. Previously, there was an additional charge from the doctor for the sample vial if a woman chose this more advanced type of testing.

Auckland’s community laboratory service, Diagnostic Medlab (DML) is moving to ThinPrep Liquid Based Cytology (LBC) for all cervical smear tests. DML will provide medical practices with the ThinPrep sample vials at no cost, removing the need for an additional charge.

The National Cervical Screening Programme (NCSP) indicates that in New Zealand each year approximately 200 women develop cervical cancer and about 70 women die from the disease although it is one of the most preventable of all cancers. A woman's best protection against developing cervical cancer is to have regular cervical smear tests.

Dr Mee Ling Yeong, DML’s clinical director of cytopathology explains, “Clinical studies have shown that the ThinPrep Pap test is significantly more effective than the conventional Pap smear method at detecting abnormal cells. The ThinPrep test has gained acceptance worldwide as a trusted testing method and it is DML’s method of choice.”

Dr Yeong adds that the ThinPrep test increases the early detection of pre-cancerous cells.

DML holds the National Cervical Screening Programme (NCSP) contract for the Greater Auckland area through to June 30, 2010, and processes around 150,000 smear tests a year, of which approximately 40 percent are currently ThinPrep tests.

“This change is in line with the NCSP’s Guidelines originally set out to introduce LBC after July 1, 2009. Rather than wait for the national change, however, we want to introduce it into Auckland now as there are significant advantages for women and doctors,” says Dr Yeong.

She says that the new system removes the need for doctors to offer alternative smear methods and potentially limit access to those who cannot afford it.

“DML has eleven years of experience with this method of testing, resulting in our cytology staff being one of the most experienced worldwide with the ThinPrep testing method. We have new machines for automated slide preparation which will enable us to streamline this process,” says Dr Yeong.

“The ThinPrep test sample is collected in the same way as a conventional smear sample,” she adds.

ENDS

Additional background
Community laboratories play an important role in New Zealand primary health care, providing the medical analysis of fluid and tissue samples that allow GPs to diagnose specific conditions and prescribe the correct treatment with the aim of keeping people out of hospitals.

Diagnostic Medlab provides community laboratory services to the greater Auckland region. It employs 750 skilled staff including 36 highly trained pathologists. Within the workforce 42 nationalities are represented.

Over 300 staff work in the community based Collection Services area collecting specimens from the public with another 400 staff based at Diagnostic Medlab’s Ellerslie laboratory where they carry out more than 35,000 tests for around 10,000 Aucklanders every day. The laboratory is one of the largest and most modern of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.

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