Cervical Cancer Prevention Week: Mayo nurse urges women to attend screenings

Orla Loftus, an Advanced Nurse Practitioner at Knock Medical Centre in Co. Mayo has spoken out for Cervical Cancer Prevention Week 2024. 

Recipient of the Irish Healthcare Award for Practice Nurse of the Year 2021, Loftus speaks of a time when there was very little awareness of cervical cancer; when screenings was “haphazard, and the results took ages”.

She describes the 2008 introduction of CervicalCheck as an uplifting moment: “To have it for the women we serve and care for…because the bottom line is – cervical screening prevents cancer.”

Loftus began her nursing career in 1997 when she joined her father’s GP practice in Crossmolina. She says her father, Dr Michael (Mickey) Loftus, inspired her to take up a role in caring for women in her community.

She completed a Masters in Women’s Health from the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland in 2005, learning more about HPV and cervical screening along the way, saying that being a sample taker is an opportunity to put the core values of nursing – compassion, care, and commitment, into practice.

“Being on the front line, face to face with women, is a special and important place to be. General practice is the ideal place to provide most cervical screening. It means women can access screening locally with someone they know.”

When the cervical screening programme was introduced Ms Loftus says her practice at Knock Medical Centre ‘took it and ran with it’. 

“I’ve been working in practice for 26 years. I understand my patients and take a holistic approach in providing care. Some of the patients I vaccinated when they were babies are now coming to me for cervical screening. It’s a privilege and opportunity as part of an ongoing therapeutic relationship to be able to offer our patients cervical screening.”

Loftus aims to make the screening process as normal as possible for people. 

“That first screening consultation can lead on to so much more. It’s so important to give that extra time to show a woman the instruments we use and let her know that you can stop the screening any time she wants you to, especially if women find the idea of screening daunting. The patient can learn to trust you if they have a good experience.”

CervicalCheck, she says, supports her to do her work, and following work as a facilitator for an Irish College of General Practitioners training course, Ms Loftus completed CervicalCheck’s ‘experienced sample taker’ training course, which has helped her to explain the benefits and limitations of screening to her patients in a clear way.

“It’s a complex consultation and you don’t want to overwhelm people. We’re supported to explain the benefits and limitations and to explain how results will be communicated and what happens next.

“Refresher training is always good. Doing the training reassured me and reinvigorated my practice. I would encourage everyone, new or experienced, to use the education resources available from CervicalCheck.”

Talking about Ireland’s target to eliminate cervical cancer, Loftus says ‘the progress with HPV vaccination has been wonderful and my two daughters have benefited from it.’

For Cervical Cancer Prevention Week, the Mayo nurses message to women is simple: “Cervical screening prevents cervical cancer.”

She stresses how far screening have come since she began her career,  and urges those who are due a screening, to ‘make that appointment’, and for those just looking for more information, to  ‘come and talk to us, even if you’re not ready to come for screening…we’re happy to answer all your questions’.

For more information, see here.