Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

406. To ask the Minister for Health the reason a person (details supplied) is not entitled to a review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49110/18]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Following the emergence of issues relating to CervicalCheck earlier this year, the audit of the cervical screening process being conducted by CervicalCheck, for training and education purposes, was paused in light of two reviews established by Government.

One is an Independent Expert Panel Review led by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG). This has a clearly defined scope and terms of reference, and includes those women with a diagnosis of cervical cancer who had been registered with the National Cancer Registry of Ireland (NCRI) as of 5th May 2018. While registration of cancer cases is a continuous process, a defined time period and cut-off date is required for such a review and hence there will be women diagnosed with cervical cancer, who have been screened, who are not part of the review process.

The other review is the Scoping Inquiry led by Dr Gabriel Scally, whose report was published on my Department's website on 12 September and includes 50 recommendations, all of which have been accepted by Government. These include two recommendations relating specifically to auditing cervical screening.

Dr Scally recommends that common, robust and externally validated approaches to all aspects of audit should be developed across the screening services. He also advises that there should be two patient advocates involved in the oversight of clinical audit for the screening services. Both of these recommendations will be implemented. I want to see audit of cervical screening recommence as soon as possible, but it must be done in the right way and in the robust way that Dr Scally recommends, and there is obviously some work required to ensure that happens.

In the interim, the CervicalCheck website provides detail for women who wish to have an independent review of their slides at