If they had been picked up in time cancer could have been prevented. The hospital said the average cytopathologist would not necessarily have picked up on tiny abnormalities in the tests on the Kent women - Sandra Penney, of Ramsgate, Helen Palmer, of Whitstable, and Lesley Cannon, of the Isle of Sheppey. An inquiry last year blamed poor management and under-staffing for the scandal. No need for concern' Summing up, Judge Peppitt QC urged women not to be afraid of having a smear test. There will also be pre-cancers which do not appear on screening.
Some laboratories are very good and some laboratories are less good.
It has been a real David and Goliath test - these three women who take on the hospital trust and the health authority and the NHS screening programme. It has been a very important case not just in the interests of these women but in the interests of all women, these women have fought to get reasonable standards and important lessons have to be learned. The chief executive of the hospital at the centre of the case apologised to the women and said he would try to ensure a swift resolution to the amount of money to be paid in compensation. The inquiry into the scandal led to a shake up of the screening programme and there are now more checks in place. We are doing everything we can to make sure we have a quality programme for women which they can have faith in.