Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I assure the Deputy that rolling out the package of supports is a priority. Not only did we appoint a national lead within the HSE to co-ordinate it, but we have also instructed that lead to ensure public health nurses are assigned in each of the community healthcare organisations, CHOs, to liaise with the families. I do not want to hear of any woman or her family having to go to a meeting in Dublin or being dragged to meet the HSE. I want to see the infrastructure in place for a public health nurse to visit that woman or her next of kin in an appropriate setting for the family, for example, around the kitchen table in the family home. A number of such meetings have taken place and I am informed that a great deal of progress has been made. Without naming anyone in the Dáil, I have put some of the women affected in contact with the person co-ordinating this work nationally to ensure their feedback will go directly to the HSE. I will personally monitor the position closely.

As the Deputy knows, there was a significant downward trend in the incidence of invasive cervical cancer between 2010 and 2015 and we are seeing improvements in five-year survival rates. For that progress to continue, it is essential that women keep participating in cervical screening. Recent weeks have shaken confidence in many aspects of CervicalCheck, but participating in screening is vital if we are to continue to see a reduction in the incidence of invasive cervical cancer. It is welcome that so many women who have been adversely impacted jon or treated poorly by the health service have echoed that message.

As part of ensuring women can feel trust and confidence in the CervicalCheck programme and that it is well managed and quality assured, I have asked Dr. Gabriel Scally to carry out a scoping inquiry into all aspects of CervicalCheck. I expect him to report to me at the end of June. He is due to produce a progress report in the first week of June. Separately, there will be an international clinical expert review panel led by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, as I believed it was important to involve external persons. It will review the screening history of all women who have developed cervical cancer and participated in the screening programme since it was established. This will provide independent clinical assurance for women about the timing of their diagnoses and any issue related to their treatments and outcomes.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

On the number of free follow-up smear tests, the HSE has advised that this information is not available, given that there is always a time delay between when the smear test sample is taken by the smear taker and notification of the smear is received by CervicalCheck from the laboratories. Tests are examined in three laboratories, with approximately 50% of the testing done in Ireland and 50% abroad. All three laboratories meet quality assurance standards and are certified by the relevant national authorities. The clinical advice is that there is no evidence that the clinical and technical aspects of the programme have performed outside or below international standards or the quality guidelines set for the programme. However, smear tests can produce both false positive and false negative results. I have asked the HSE to introduce HPV testing as soon as possible as the primary screening method for the prevention of cervical cancer. The HPV test is a more accurate testing mechanism than liquid-based cytology, the current testing mechanism, and its use would result in fewer false negative results. Its introduction is in line with developments in cervical screening internationally.

See this speech in context