Results delay Scotland

Had smear test on 30th November and still awaiting results. 10 weeks of waiting and GP said backlog is 12-16 weeks!! Is anyone else in Scotland in a similar position? Really nervous and anxious due to symptoms and history. NHS inform website says delays up to 8 weeks.

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Iā€™m in a similar situation. Had smear test on the 7th of December and still waiting on results. Would be interested to know when you get your letter as mine should hopefully just be a week later. Iā€™m NHS Highland and there was a 6 week wait to even get the appointment in the first place.

I called the GP after 8 weeks like the NHS inform website advises and got a quite a rude response from the receptionist. She kept saying it had nothing to do with them and told me that the website was wrong to suggest I should have called.

My previous test was HPV with changes and colposcopy confirmed CIN 1. Was very concerned when I saw you had been told 12-16 weeks for smear results! I read it a few days ago, been lurking on the forum for a while but this is the first time Iā€™ve posted. Feeling extremely frustrated and let down by the whole process and constant worsening delays. Was told Iā€™d be back in colposcopy for a 1 year check in October 2022 but instead received a letter from the GP to go for a smear test. Nobody seems to able to tell me if this is correct.

Iā€™m 31 now but was 28 when I finally plucked up the courage to book my first smear test, which was for March 2020. They called the week before to say all tests were being cancelled because of covid. Around August it was announced that tests were restarting. I waited a month or so to see if I would be invited for one but when I wasnā€™t I called I rang to enquire and was told they are inviting people in order of priority, that I would get a letter, and not to call again until I get a letter. I tried to ask how long it might be because I was concerned that at the point it was cancelled it was already years overdue and she said that had been my choice - sheā€™s not wrong but it wasnā€™t very reassuring. Several anxious months then went by with no letter. I eventually called in early 2021 and spoke to someone nice who booked me in for April 2021 (more than one year later than the cancelled apointment). After the test I felt completely relieved, that I had done the responsible thing and that it was all over. Forgot entirely that I would be receiving results but got a letter 7 weeks later informing me that I has HPV and cell changes. Barely knew what this meant and went into overdrive researching and worrying, found this forum at that time. Was told in the letter Iā€™d be seen in the hospital within 8 weeks but it ended up being 16 weeks later (October 2021), 6 months after the smear test.

I find the waiting so hard to cope with. Fully expecting the smear result to tell me I need to go back to the colposcopy clinic, but itā€™s now 4 months since I was expecting to be back there in the first place and still waiting on smear results, which feels like an unnecessary extra step. Can only guess that it was to try and reduce the number of people waiting to be seen at the colposcopy clinic.

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@elenbe sorry for the late reply. I got my results in last Saturday so roughly 10 1/2 weeks after test. I hope you e gotten your results in by now :crossed_fingers:t2:

Mine came back the same as last year: still HPV+ but still no changes. Iā€™m so relieved but still wondering why I have so many other symptoms. Still waiting on my gynae appointment and not heard anything about that. Itā€™s been 11 weeks since referral so not really sure what the wait times are for that. Thinking discharge and bleeding may be coming from erosion so hoping they can do something about that.

@Becs84 Glad to hear you got your result. I hope you donā€™t have to wait too much longer for your referral.

I donā€™t have my results yet but as itā€™s been 10 1/2 weeks now Iā€™m hopeful that Iā€™ll get something through the post this week. The waiting drives me mad.

Hi there im in Northern Ireland i got my smear done end of September i didnt recieve my results til last week nearly 20 weeks of waiting an iv been informed by Doctor it can run into 6 months which to me is a absolute disgrace xx

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If its any help the hosp rang me lastweek to book me in for a colopscopy an i hadnt received my results from my GP at that stage needless to say i had a nervous breakdown. My consultant told me today at coloposcopy any further apps like montioring smears etc will be under hosp an if my doctors offers any to just refuse as il be under hosp an it gets confusing for them. So maybe they operate seperately as such. Im in Northern ireland xx

@GD1 20 weeks is appalling, Iā€™m sorry for your experience. Good luck with your colposcopy results.

Iā€™ve chased my results again today at 11 weeks and fortunately had good news.

It started with going to give blood yesterday and discovered I couldnā€™t as I was still waiting on a smear result (following a previous abnormal result). Apparently they need a clear result before they will let you donate? When I said how long I had been waiting the nurse said I should call my GP. I said I had at the 8 week point and they told me itā€™s nothing to do with them, as they are now processed in a central lab, and that I shouldnā€™t be calling my GP about smear results. The blood donation nurse said thatā€™s not right and I should call again.

After another post delivery without a result envelope, I spoke to such an incredibly helpful man on the reception who looked at my file and said there was a letter from the colposcopy clinic dated 11 days ago that must just not have reached me yet. He read it out to me on the phone and printed it so I could go and collect. In the letter the colposcopist said she was sorry there was a delay booking me a 1 year check up appointment (due October) but that she can see in the meantime I had a smear at the GP which has come back clear, so no need for me to go back to the hospital anymore. It sounds like what you say @GD1 that thereā€™s some confusion and that perhaps I should have been waiting for the hospital appointment rather than being booked in at GP?

I was so relieved I sobbed after I got off the phone. I then had a phone call a few hours from the GP surgery. The receptionist had passed my details on to someone who deals with smear recalls and she had access to the full results. It sounds like the results have been available for a while and maybe mine have been lost in the post. She clarified that the sample was tested for HPV (negative) and then because of my history they also tested the cells for changes also, which were also clear!

When I heard the first letter, although relieved there was a slight niggle that thought because it was HPV negative they wouldnā€™t have tested for cell changes and what if the ā€˜badā€™ cells were still there? Very grateful for the follow up phone call and for the diligence to check for cell changes even with a negative result.

Iā€™m on the smear recall list for 1 years time to check that everything is still clear. The people I spoke to today have restored my confidence in the NHS, which had been gradually lost over the past couple of years. However, I am a bit concerned that 2 letters have failed to reach me - the smear result and then the colposcopy letter.

I hope others will be reassured to hear that you can go from HPV+ with CIN1 to being clear of both within a year or so. I didnā€™t take any special supplements or vitamins etc.

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@elenbe im so happy you got good results im sure its such a reliefšŸ™ yea they seem to be done seperately i bawled when the hosp rang to say i had to see consultant due to smear as i had zero idea of what it was for an i immediately assumed the worst. I cannot tell you the anxiety iv had from it the girl from the hosp was just a receptionist god love her but she told me my doctors had my results an to ring them that day.

So i rang i was in a state an the doctor called an told me my results were minor an i had hpv but not the one highly linked to cancer she did reassure me but to be honest its really effected me emotionally scared the life out of me.

I was at hosp Mon for colopscopy consultant was brill an told me not cancer an it was my choice to remove or monitor the minor cells i removed them as i didnt want to risk anything. She took a biopsy but reassured me it wasnt anything sinster altho in my head with how things were lastweek i still worry im just recovering now an trying to get back to myself. I told consultant of the trauma i had from all of it an she said the hosp would be dealing with anymore of my apps regarding to all this as it really could have been dealt with better. Also when i rang my GPs the receptionist wouldnt tell me anything other than youll get results in post i said not good enough get Doctor to phone me when Doctor did phone me she said i dont understand why no one could have explained this on phone to save you this distressā€¦disaster was only word for it Xxx

@elenbe ment to add yes they do operate seperately i was firmly told by consultant to not follow up treatments regarding smears etc at GPs as its all under hosp now so yes going by how your situation has been too it must be the way of it confusing but sure how are we to know unless its explained xxx

Thanks for the replies folks. Been a while since I was on here but back on the worry wagon once more!

After getting my smear results last Feb (HPV+ with no changes), I was referred to Gynae in May. Had biopsies of my cervix and womb (the latter being bloody awful!). Both came back clear but was also referred on for a transverse ultra-sound.

November rolls round again and Iā€™m back for my annual smear (third in three years, with previous 2 being HPV+ but no changes). Still having all the same symptoms and now have had some bleeding after sex. Gained weight during my summer holiday which hasnā€™t shifted and tummy looks like Iā€™m 5 months pregnant. Iā€™m a PE teacher and pretty active so have always maintained weight and have a slim frame.

Went for ultra sound in January and still waiting results.

Got smear results in last week to find Iā€™m still HPV+ but now have cell changes. Thatā€™s three years positive now (although could be a lot longer as it wasnā€™t tested before). Have to go back for colposcopy but could be anywhere between 8-16 weeks.

Contacted my gynaeā€™s receptionist to let her know but she said I have to wait on the appointment letter coming through and will probably be a separate clinic. Bonkers!

Just feel like Iā€™m going round in circles. Had pre-cancerous cells removed about 20 years ago and worried that itā€™s all starting again.

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Hi folks,

A wee updateā€¦ā€¦ultrasound results came back showing I have a Bicornuate (heart shaped) uterus. Letter stated this wouldnā€™t explain symptoms of heavy painful periods or pain during sex but when I googled it, thatā€™s exactly what it said! No idea what to think.

Still no word of colposcopy appointment and now on week 8 since smear results letter. Still anxious. Still waiting. Still symptomatic.

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