'Quite overwhelming': Over 100 women turn out for first-ever pop-up Pap clinic in London, Ont.

St. Joseph’s Health Care London held it’s first ever drop-in Pap smear clinic Monday, a one-day walk-in clinic at St. Joseph’s Hospital on Grosvenor Street, in partnership with the South West Regional Cancer Program.

“It was quite overwhelming, to be honest with you,” said Dr. Robert Di Cecco, medical director of the colposcopy clinic of St. Joseph’s and the regional lead for cervical screening for the South West Regional Cancer Program.

Di Cecco said the concept behind the one day clinic was trying to address people that don’t have primary care.

“Since it’s Cervical Screening Awarness Month, we thought this would be an opportunity to open up the clinic, and just have people drop-in with no appointment, no referrals to get a Pap smear done,” explained Di Cecco.

To the clinic’s surprise, by noon more than 50 women had registered to have the cervical screening completed, and there were dozens more waiting in the hallway.

Di Cecco said there are a number of contributing factors to the large turn out at Monday's clinic, including a growing population, people having trouble getting primary care physicians, or people that have primary care, but timing isn’t good to get the test done.

“People that we’ve had today, when I’ve asked them, it’s been three, five, eight, 10 years since they’ve had their cervical screening. And we just can’t let that happen, because those are the people that could be in trouble if we don’t pick up things,” said Di Cecco.

Paige Wall, a mother of three, was among the women waiting to be screened at the clinic on Monday. She arrived at the clinic at 9:30 a.m. to get the important physical screening done.

Patient Paige Wall came to get Pap test at first-ever drop-in Pap smear clinic held at St. Joseph’s Health Care in London, Ont. on Jan. 29, 2024. (Reta Ismail/CTV News London) “There are so many women here, it’s overwhelming. The whole waiting room is filled, the hallway is filled,” explained Wall.

The 31-year-old said her family doctor retired last summer, and she hasn’t had a Pap test done in a decade.

“It’s uncomfortable, and yes it’s a bit awkward and weird, but I would rather that than be gone,” said Wall.

The St. Joseph’s clinic is usually the place women with abnormal Pap tests are referred for follow-up or treatment. But on Monday, they were busy completing back-to-back Pap-smears, so much so, they had to call in reinforcements to help move things along.

Di Cecco stressed the importance of keeping up with Pap smear testing and getting the HPV vaccine, which has been around for nearly 15 years.

“The vaccine for HPV has been very effective, and we strongly encourage people to get vaccinated against this, because it’s had a huge impact in decreasing the amount of abnormalities we see,” explained Di Cecco.

According to the hospital, 1,550 Canadians are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 400 will die from it each year. Yet cervical cancer can most often be prevented with regular cervical screening (Pap test) and follow-up of abnormal results.

Most cervical cancers are found in individuals who have never been screened or who have not been screened regularly, as recommended by Ontario’s cervical screening guidelines.

Screening is usually performed by health care providers in the community. However, with one in five Canadians – approximately 6.5 million people – currently without a family doctor, many individuals are likely missing out on this important aspect of preventative care.

Di Cecco said this pilot pop-up has been over the top, and its successful outcome may be the incentive to hold these clinics more frequently.