Mr. Damien McCallion:

The Deputy has asked about CervicalCheck but she is right that the principles apply across each programme and each programme is quite different with regard to the solutions. CervicalCheck has restarted and a number of priority groups have been identified for the first round. More than 20,000 invitation letters were issued in the first month. The priorities are people on a one-year recall, people who are being recalled in the short term for a repeat test within three months and new women entering the programme for the first time. These are based on clinical risk determined by our clinical advisory group. Approximately 80,000 people will be called back in and they will all be processed between now and the end of the year. We are satisfied that we have the laboratory capacity in place. There are challenges with regard to general practice given the new public health guidelines on Covid, if it were to reoccur. We are monitoring each programme weekly with respect to uptake, what is coming through each programmes and where that leaves us.

There are challenges with regard to the public response. We are trying to put in place communication campaigns to support people coming back into the screening programmes where they have restarted and as they restart. We will have to review this regularly. Each programme is discrete. Earlier, my colleague, Professor O'Doherty, described the challenges BreastCheck faces, which are very different with regard to 2 m physical and social distancing. Each programme will have discrete challenges as we move through them.

CervicalCheck and our diabetic retinopathy screening programme have restarted. We have seen a reasonable uptake of diabetic retinopathy in the first month. It is very early days. CervicalCheck has been slow but it will take some time for it to come back. Pre-Covid, many women took some time from receiving the letter of invitation to taking up an appointment with their GP. There is often a gap in the process. This is something we will have to work through. As was alluded to by other speakers earlier, if we hit further surges or if there is further impact on general practice or clinical hospitals with regard to treatment services, this will also have an effect.