The colon cancer population screening program implemented by the Ministry of Health is in full swing, however, some citizens, in the last week, upon receiving the envelope sent to them, find that the consumables they are asked to use have an expiration date.
As a result, of course, they do not proceed with the necessary procedure, fearing for the reliability of the examination they are required to undergo, while several have already contacted the Ministry of Health, expressing both their concern and their strong dissatisfaction.
Specifically, in recent months, citizens belonging to the age group of 50-70 years old have been receiving by mail envelopes that include all the necessary consumables to undergo the relevant examination.
Based on the procedure, citizens place the sample (faeces) inside the vial sent to them and deliver it to specific points for which they are informed through the printed material they receive.
Those, however, who received their envelope in the last few days, were surprised since the bottle with the reagent they are asked to use has an expiration date of June 30, 2026.
Despite the fact that a short period of time has passed since the expiration date, some citizens have turned to their doctors to ask if it is safe, for the purposes of reliability of results, to proceed with the necessary procedure. As a result, of course, the issue began to be discussed among doctors.
The problem was raised by "F" before the Ministry of Health, which admits the fact that in the hands of some citizens there is a possibility of expired consumables arriving, however, it gives its own explanation, referring, among other things, to the delay that, sometimes, is observed in the delivery of the envelopes by the Post Office.
As we are informed, in the previous months 10,000 envelopes were sent en masse which could not be delivered at the same time. As a result, in several cases, the envelopes reached their recipients only a few days before June 30 or a few days later, such as the citizen who contacted "F" yesterday.
The Ministry of Health, recognizing the concern of doctors and citizens, also addressed the manufacturing company, which officially informed that the reagent in this bottle has a safe "life" of up to one month after the date indicated on it, as the expiration date
"In any case, however, citizens who wish to participate in the program can contact the Ministry of Health to obtain new consumables in order not to worry about the result of their examination."
As it was pointed out, at the same time, there is also a number of citizens who received their files on time, but neglected to do the test, as a result of which the time passed and finally the expiration date of the reagent was exceeded. "And these citizens can request a new file from the Ministry of Health and the same applies to those who may receive their file late in the next period."
The "wrong", however, in the whole case does not stop here, since at the same time, the Ministry of Health receives by the hundreds, as returns, files that it had sent to citizens since last April, because the recipients either changed their home, or still have their personal doctor's office registered as their address in the General Health System, which may have been transferred to another building.
This is because at the beginning of the implementation of the GHS, several personal doctors had registered their beneficiaries in the System themselves by registering their own postal address. As a result, the doctor's address appears, incorrectly, as the beneficiary's address, in the event that the beneficiary has never updated his/her personal data in the system.
In several cases, as we are informed, personal doctors distribute the files to their legal recipients, however, there are cases in which the doctors have also been transferred to another building/clinic and so the files are returned by mail to the Ministry of Health.
According to the information obtained by "F", around 1,000 files have already been returned to the Ministry, which certainly affects the smooth running of the program.
It is reported that the program will be interrupted until mid-autumn, for practical reasons and mainly due to the very high temperatures that endanger the safety of the samples.
