Erin Harbinson's husband vows to continue her fight after misread smear results

The husband of a woman whose case was among those which sparked a major review into thousands of misread smear results in the Southern Trust has taken on her battle - a promise he made to her on her death bed.

In April 2024, Erin Harbinson a mother of four spoke to UTV about her anger at developing cervical cancer after three of her smear tests were misread over a ten year period.

Only last month she lost her fight for life.

A special UTV News investigation has uncovered a scandal finding serious failings in cancer care which saw people wrongly given 'all-clear' screening results and left with the incurable disease.

Families have been left devastated knowing their loved ones conditions could have been treated, prolonging their lives.

Our investigation has found authorities knew of the extent of the problem for years while those screeners who had been identified as producing incorrect results continued their work.

UTV has discussed the findings about the missed opportunities and red flags with her grieving husband Trevor, who is continuing to campaign so no other family has to feel the pain that he is now going through.

We asked him did he think potentially had the screeners' work been rechecked sooner that things may have been different for Erin...

Trevor said: "There was talk of a hysterectomy with Erin before but it had gone too far but if it was caught sooner that would have been a possibility, if they had listened to the Courtney family.

"I feel angry, very angry that they didn't learn from the lessons and it's terrible what it happening with the Courtney family as well...

"Erin could still be here if they had done what they could have done at the time..."

Health Minister Mike Nesbitt said: “I am very grateful to the representatives from the Ladies with Letters group and in particular Trevor Harbinson, husband of the late Erin, who openly and honestly shared their experiences with me when we met last week.

“The findings of RCPath (Royal College of Pathology) Report were clearly unacceptable and I fully appreciate the serious concerns that many women and their families have raised.

“It is essential that we understand and learn the lessons from what has happened within the Southern Health and Social Care Trust.

“The Cervical Cytology Review (a review of laboratory slides) is due to conclude later this month, after which a factual report will be produced before a detailed analysis of all findings will be undertaken. This analysis will be supported by the appropriate independence. It is important that we await the outcome of these processes as they will help determine our next steps.

“As Health Minister I remain committed to finding the most appropriate method to understand what happened and to learn lessons, to ensure that our screening programmes deliver on behalf of our population.”

Following UTV's investigation into the scandal, we approached the Department of Health, Southern Trust and Public Health Agency for comment.

None provided a spokesperson, instead they provided statements.

A Southern Health and Social Care Trust statement said: “The performance of any screener can fluctuate for a range of reasons. There are systems in place to pick this up and screeners are given annual training to keep their skills up.

"During the period 2008 - 2021, some of our screeners performance did fall below the recognised standard. The underperformance was identified by us at the time and actions were taken to deliver improvement.

"However, in some years, the performance of some screeners did not reach the required standard despite having had the required update training and support. This was not recognised and we apologise for this. In 2021 we took action to address screener underperformance including some of our staff ceasing screening duties."

The Southern Trust said senior laboratory staff notified its management team that they had concerns about performance in some steps of their laboratory’s screening system.

"To fully investigate these concerns, we brought in The Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath) to undertake an independent assessment of our cervical screening services and then we published their report on our website.

"The report found that for some screeners, the number of times performance dropped during the period 2008 to 2021 was a concern and they were not satisfied that the actions taken by the Trust were sufficiently robust.

"The RCPath Report contained recommendations and we have worked with the PHA to implement them in full."

The trust said its major review of tests for 17,500 women with the PHA in October 2023 was undertaken as a precautionary measure.

Its statement continued: "We assessed all women’s cervical smear histories in the Southern Trust since 2008 and identified the women who are affected and were to be included in the review.

"The Cervical Screening review will be completed within days and nearly all the women will have received an outcome at this stage. The results confirm that the vast majority of previous smear results are unchanged and have been confirmed as normal."

It said women with a diagnosis of cervical cancer were not part of The Cervical Screening Review.

"These women with a confirmed diagnosis of cervical cancer have their screening history reviewed through an audit of invasive cancer for learning and improvement purposes. No Cervical Cancers have been identified to date in the Cervical Review.

"The Cervical Cytology Review is due to conclude this month, after which a factual report will be produced before a detailed analysis of all findings will be undertaken. The Health Minister has advised that he will await the outcome of these processes before determining any next steps."

The trust said the Belfast Trust will provide the regional one-site Laboratory service for the NI Cervical Screening Programme.

"It is essential that women keep coming forward for their cervical testing when invited to do so,” the trust said.

The Public Health Agency said it recognised the 'serious shortcomings' identified in the RCPath Consulting report. It also acknowledged the 'distress and uncertainty' this has caused for many women.

"It is important that lessons are learnt," the PHA statement said.

"The cervical screening programme in Northern Ireland is very effective at detecting early cell abnormalities which, when treated, can prevent cancer and save lives. Together with the HPV vaccination programme, which began in 2008, it is reducing the incidence of the disease here.

"It is essential that women come forward for their cervical smear test when invited to do so. This will continue to save lives.

"The Northern Ireland Cervical Screening Programme introduced primary HPV testing into the cervical screening pathway in December 2023, which has increased the ability to detect early cell changes that could lead to cancer. Nearly all cervical cancers are caused by persistent infection with high risk types of human papillomavirus, known as HPV.

"A diagnosis of cervical cancer is devastating and our thoughts are with those who have been diagnosed with cancer and their loved ones.

"Screening by cytology, which was the previous model, is only expected to pick up 75% of abnormalities, so the screening history of all cases of cervical cancer are reviewed for learning and improvement purposes as standard practice. A good screening programme will find most, but not all, abnormalities.

"Following receipt of the report by RCPath Consulting, a review of historical slides in SHSCT was commenced, and this is due to conclude shortly. The findings of the review will be analysed in detail and a report produced. It will be important to consider the findings of this and identify any learning. We recognise that the slide review in the SHSCT has caused upset and concern for many women."Our cervical screening programme is essential in reducing the incidence of cancer and saving lives, but it can only work if women attend for screening when invited.

"Northern Ireland has an excellent cervical screening programme, and the number of cervical cancers in women who are eligible for screening has decreased significantly since 1988, when the screening programme was launched. We anticipate that this will improve further with the move to primary HPV screening and continued high uptake of HPV vaccination."

The Department of Health said the findings of the RCPath report were 'clearly unacceptable'.

“It is essential that we understand and learn the lessons from what has happened within the Southern Health and Social Care Trust," a statement from Health Minister Mike Nesbitt said.

“The Cervical Cytology Review (a review of laboratory slides) is due to conclude later this month, after which a factual report will be produced before a detailed analysis of all findings will be undertaken. This analysis will be supported by the appropriate independence. It is important that we await the outcome of these processes as they will help determine our next steps.

“As health minister I remain committed to finding the most appropriate method to understand what happened and to learn lessons, to ensure that our screening programmes deliver on behalf of our population.”

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