The widow and relatives of Louise Corbett Gibbons, who died from cervical cancer, have added their support to ongoing calls for a statutory public inquiry into Northern Ireland’s cervical screening program. Gibbons was 24 years old at the time of her death and was a patient of the Belfast Health Trust. Her family was informed that her smear test had been misread, though they were also told the outcome would have been the same regardless.
The push for an inquiry comes three years after issues emerged within the Southern Health Trust’s cervical screening service, an incident that prompted roughly 17,500 women to be contacted for smear test rechecks as part of a comprehensive review spanning cases from 2008 onward. Campaigners organized under the name Ladies with Letters have been driving efforts to establish a formal public inquiry, arguing that screening problems may not have been limited to the Southern Trust.
Legal representatives and campaign members contend that cervical screening issues potentially affected women beyond the Southern Trust’s jurisdiction, noting that a screening program operated across all Northern Ireland health trusts during the relevant period. They argue that at minimum, an investigation should determine whether similar problems occurred in other health service areas.
In recent months, former Health Minister Mike Nesbitt declined to authorize a public inquiry into cervical screening failures. The Ladies with Letters, including representatives Heather Thompson and Tracey Bell, recently demonstrated at Stormont with cross-party assembly members to renew their demands. The group indicated plans to meet with current Health Minister Robbie Butler next month in hopes of persuading officials that the matter warrants further investigation.
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