Mr. Damien McCallion:

I met some of the staff last week and I am aware of some of the concerns people have. We are trying to address them in terms of providing more supports from a HR perspective but also trying to get more regular bulletins out to smear takers and GPs because, ultimately, they are probably best placed to try to give some level of reassurance to women. It is very difficult. If a woman is ringing in, what she wants to know is when her test will come back. While an explanation involving the progress we are making or things we are trying to do is helpful, ultimately, it does not answer the person's question and that is the challenge for the person on the line. We are trying to improve that communication notwithstanding that difficulty, but ultimately we are putting most of our efforts into trying to put this capacity into place so that we can give people a timeline which will give them reassurance.

Regarding the other steps we have taken, which I mentioned at our previous appearance before the committee, because of the risk of expiration of the HPV testing, we undertake those tests now, so that has the added benefit of pulling out those who are HPV-positive and moving them through the system more quickly. There is an element of triage in that. That is something at which we are looking in terms of the entire backlog, that we would try to move that forward using HPV testing first, which would prioritise those who are at greatest risk and move them into the system more quickly. That is part of our overall plan around the backlog.