Health Professional

• All registered medical practitioners are eligible to join the Cervical Screening Programme and to take cervical smears.

• Nurses can join the Cervical Screening Programme if they are currently taking smears and/or they have completed a recognized training course under supervision. They should work under the supervision of registered medical practitioners.

• A training kit on cervical cancer screening will be given to service providers who participate in the Cervical Screening Programme.

• Both the conventional and liquid-based methods are acceptable for smear taking and cytological examination.

• Women should be informed of both positive and negative smear results. All women with abnormal smear results should be called back for further management. They should preferably be notified during a doctor's visit.

• In order to promote quality of cervical cancer screening services, health professionals taking part in the Cervical Screening Programme may be invited to attend refresher-training courses if the quality of cervical smears taken does not meet the minimum required standard.

• Both technical skills in smear taking and communication skills to clients should be included in the training courses related to cervical cancer screening.

• Survey on women's satisfaction about their smear taking experiences could be conducted.

• The Hong Kong College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (HKCOG) has published the "HKCOG Guidelines Number 3 - Guidelines on the management of abnormal cervical cytology (revised November 2008)" which provides guidelines for smear taking and management of abnormal smears. The guideline is available in the College website.

Laboratory

• The "Basic Criteria for a Cervical Cytology Screening Laboratory" by the Hong Kong College of Pathologists is the recommended reference for quality assurance standards in laboratories.
  

• The "Cervical Cytology Practice Guidelines" by the Hong Kong Society of Cytology is the recommended reference on good laboratory practices in performing cervical cytology.
  
  
• In order to maintain the quality of a cervical smear test, the Hong Kong Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (HOKLAS) accredits laboratory's capability to perform specific tests according to accreditation criteria and requirements.

  For more information about the list of laboratories accredited for performing cytopathology test under HOKLAS, please refer to the following link:
  
  Hong Kong Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (HOKLAS) and view the list under the testing type: "Gynaecological Cytology" .