Every year thousands of women attend routine smear tests as part of a programme to help prevent cervical cancer. 

But we can reveal for more than a decade multiple screeners at one health trust were falling way short of recognised standards, failings which we find were not addressed either by their employers or watchdogs for years. 

While the results of a large-scale review into issues at the Southern Trust are still to be announced, our evidence suggests the problems could be more far reaching.

Our investigation began after we revealed one shocking case where a woman was given the all clear three times. She later died with cancer - with doctors believing had it been caught earlier the outcome may have been different. 


Carol Jordan, Sarah Clarke and Deborah McAleese discuss their investigation into the cancer screening scandal in this UTV Vodcast.