A woman whose misread smear tests led to an undetected cancer has taken her experience to the Health and Disability Commissioner, to protect other women

Health NZ was found in breach of the Health and Disability Code after not telling the woman about a repeated mistake, for almost eight months.

Her cancer went unnoticed in 2017 and 2020 through human error, before becoming terminal.

Health and Disability Commissioner Morag McDowell says there was a lack of clear processes around who was responsible for telling her about the errors.

She's recommending written apologies, and that health services involved review their systems.