Lanarkshire women are waiting up to seven months for diagnostic tests after abnormal cells are found during smears.
Labour’s health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said women were being put through “emotional turmoil” on lengthy waiting lists for urgent treatment.
Following a Freedom of Information request by Baillie, it emerged women found to have abnormal cells during routine smear tests are facing a postcode lottery for follow-up treatment.
The average wait for a colposcopy – a procedure to examine the cervix following the discovery of abnormal cells – in 2021 was between two and 22 weeks, with the longest just short of a year.
But the position appears to be worsening, with the latest figures from NHS Lanarkshire saying routine colposcopies are now averaging 212 days.
The longest wait for a colposcopy is in NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde at 312 days – almost a year.
Gynaecological scanning is also slow and Baillie has had complaints from women who have been told they will get appointments in eight weeks but then get letters days later saying the wait is more likely to be 30 weeks.
Baillie, said: “It is unacceptable that women are facing longer waits for follow-up appointments just because of where they live.”
The Scottish Government has been contacted for comment.
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