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Free smear test for under 25-year-old?

  • 25-07-2014 4:15pm
    #1
    niamhd94
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13 ✭


    Hi all,

    I would like to have a smear test done but I am not 25 so I can't avail of a free screening. I have a medical card and called my doctor but they say that even with my medical card I would have to pay €50. Is there anywhere in Dublin that I could get one done for free?


Comments

  • #2
    Dingle_berry
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 885 ✭✭✭Dingle_berry


    niamhd94 wrote: »
    Hi all,

    I would like to have a smear test done but I am not 25 so I can't avail of a free screening. I have a medical card and called my doctor but they say that even with my medical card I would have to pay €50. Is there anywhere in Dublin that I could get one done for free?
    Try getting a referral to one of the maternity hospitals, NMH has the largest colposcopy clinic I think. The Coombe were allowed to keep their cytology lab so can do smears on-site.
    Medlab Pathology in Sandyford is the private company reading the smears from Dublin. They are probably the ones looking for €50.

    This is the fall out from the previous government (and current head of HSE) deciding to privatise our gynae cytology services. An American company won the contracts (even though their cytology is way worse than ours). Now an Australian company is doing the smears from Dublin and all they had to do to get the contract was proove that they're as good as the Americans (nowhere near as good as the Irish were). It's almost reached the stage where it's abnormal for a smear to be reported as normal!


  • #3
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 3,505 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    I had gynae problems last year, never mind a free test, I couldn't even get the hospital or GP to give me one at all because I was 22.

    That said, you could try asking at a WellWoman clinic.


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