Smear tests for Swedish men blunder
Posted: 27 April 2012 by Rob Dabrowski
Thousands of Swedish men have been ordered to report to midwives and gynecologists in order to have smear tests.
A database mistake by health officials means letters have been sent out to 2,056 men telling them they need to have the test.
The mistakes happened when workers at Stockholm County and the island of Gotland were generating the smear test mailing list.
Officials said it is believed that the process of excluding men when sorting the database by gender had not been fully completed.
The letters were sent out second class and, when the health authority realised its mistake, letters were sent out first class apologising and telling men to disregard the first letter.
Henrik Almkvist, a spokesperson for the health authority, said: ‘We are conducting an in-depth analysis, making sure that it doesn’t happen again.
‘In a few days we’ll know where in the chain of events it went wrong.’
Midwives and gynecologists have been warned about the mistake and briefed to apologise to any confused men who arrive for the appointments.
