The National Women’s Council of Ireland says it is a “mistake” for the HSE to replace the word “woman” with “anyone with a cervix” in its national cervical screening advice.

The NWCI hopes to meet the HSE and Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI) to discuss the words to be used in official publications. The HSE had changed the wording to try to be more gender-neutral but is now reviewing the material.

The phrase is included in a leaflet, also published online, that outlines who should get an HPV cervical screening test. “Anyone with a cervix who is aged between 25 and 65 should get an HPV cervical screening test when it is due,” it states.

In its literature on prostate cancer, the HSE did not replace the word “man” with “anyone with a prostate”.