Patients wait for months for the pap test results because the labs are both high demand and staff shortage.

After experiencing unusual bleeding and two unusual cervical cancer tests, Wendy Yen is worried about the latest results.

However, she lives in Toronto, 45 -year -old, and learned that many Canadian laboratories could take a few months to notice due to backlogs and processing delays.

The lab screens samples on various health conditions, such as pap tests used to find early warning signs for cervical cancer.

“Waiting for the results is definitely to worn out the nerves,” said Yen.

The delay before the results of the Papango Roux test appear in many regions throughout the country. COVID-19 Pandemic played a role in creating backlogs for all kinds of screening tests, but several industry officials are in the CBC news, long-term staffing in the Canadian lab category. He says that the problem is getting worse.

Even in front of the pandemic, most laboratories were short of personnel, stated by Michel Hord’s Supreme Executive Officer of the Ontario Medical Inspection Specialist Association, a protection organization for the Intario. rice field.

Currently, more people have returned to face -to -face medical reservations, and she continued to say that tests to be processed are flooded.

“Everyone who has not been to a family physician is a good example because there is a possibility of taking a paphanicolo paint inspection, all of which are currently in our lab,” she said.

“Therefore, there is a shortage of appropriate staff to manage demand caused by the increase in the number of tests in the past 24 months.”

Wait for months until the result comes out

Vancouver -based family physician, Dr. Anna Wolak, previously stated that her patient would return the pap test results in 4-6 weeks.

“I’m now seeing the results of the paps back in 4-6 months,” she said.

In Toronto, patients at Dr. IRIS GORFINKEL clinics have also been waiting for at least two months. “Everything is unprocessed,” she said.

Lifelabs and Dynacare, two major lab companies in Canada, said that CBC News has increased the number of PAP test turnings in the labs operated mostly in Canada by e -mail. .

CHRISTINE CHO, Lifelabs’s spokeswoman, has been conducting approximately 700,000 pap tests a year in Ontario alone, stated:

Before the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, the pap test time required 10 to 15 days. “This is the goal we are now trying to achieve,” continued.

The two companies have handled more than 170 million medical examinations in Canada, but have pointed out that the lack of medical staff during the progress is the cause of the delay.

In particular, cell testing technicians are short on the long term. Lab experts have been trained to find subtle changes in patient samples, which could signs a sign of early illnesses such as ex -cancer cells.

According to CHO of Lifelabs, there are only 12 to 14 cell tests who graduate in Canada every year.

There is only one training program left in Canada

In Canada, there were several schools that were spanning several states that trained cell testing technicians. Currently, the country in Ontario is decreasing to one. It is a Michener Education Research Institute of the University Health Network.

“We are very concerned that we are currently positioned as the only educational institution that educates cell testing technicians nationwide.

When CBC News visited MICHENER’s classroom in November, the students studied PAP test samples, and the differences between healthy cells that look uniform and cells indicating early warning signs for cervical cancer in the future. I was learning how to distinguish it.

According to Brown, most samples are normal. The challenge is to find something that is not so so that the patient and his doctor can obtain the information necessary for the treatment decisions.

Brown continued, saying that even if most people return completely normal, the long waiting time until the result is obtained may be “terrible”.

A mixture of the whole state

CBC News contacted multiple states and asked how long it took to process the pap test and what measures were being taken to reduce delays.

In a statement by e -mail, a spokeswoman in Suscachuwan stated that the average time until the result was returned from the lab was “not available immediately”, but the Cebeck spokeswoman reported among the pandemic. He said that the time was interrupted.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Health, has been talking to the local research institute to discuss the time required for the inspection, and monitor the plan of the research institute to return to the normal service level. He said he was.

In particular, Alberta states that there is no delay, and 95% of the order is reported within 7 days after the lab received, but the processing time in Novascosia is actually “2019. It has been consistent or improved since the year. “

Lifelabs and Dynacare both said they are working on their own facilities backlogs.

Dynacare spokesperson, Mark Bernhardt, said that in other means, the company is working on a way to “promote the certification of foreign trained medical experts.”

In the meantime, both the institute and the government find a way to speed up sample processing, so I can’t wait for patients like Wendy Yen and are wondering what’s happening in my body.

“It delays what the logical next step will be,” she said.

These next steps may include vaginal mirror inspection, procedures used to carefully examine someone’s cervix, and biopsy that collects tissue samples and analyzes cancer cells. .

“Early detection is equivalent to reducing treatment,” said Jen.