Dáil debates

Tuesday, 29 April 2008

3:00 pm

Photo of Mary HarneyMary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

I confirm the planned roll-out of a national cervical screening programme. The absolute priority in the roll-out of this programme is to provide a quality-assured service for women availing of the service. This includes an acceptable turnaround time for cytology results.

The national cancer screening service is in the process of procuring cytology providers as part of the planned roll-out of the screening programme. It commenced in December 2007 and was open to laboratories in Ireland and internationally. The procurement process is being run in accordance with national and EU procurement requirements. The necessary entry criteria in choosing a cytology partner included accreditation status and a laboratory dealing with a volume of a minimum of 25,000 smears per annum. These criteria were chosen in line with international acceptable criteria for cervical screening programmes. The initial contractual period with laboratories will be for a two-year period. As this process is ongoing, it is not appropriate for me to comment on the specific aspects of the competition such as those referred to by the Deputy. However, in more general terms, taxpayers are entitled to expect the best value for money in terms of the cost of the service being provided.

The Dr. McGoogan report recommended that cervical screening be managed as a national call and recall programme via effective governance structures that provide overall leadership and direction in terms of policy, quality assurance, accountability and value for money. This report, among others, was taken into account by the national cancer screening service in determining the process for roll-out of the cervical screening programme nationally.

The HSE has undertaken a review of its laboratory medicine services. I welcome steps being taken by certain HSE-funded laboratories to secure accreditation. If all those involved work together in partnership, there is scope to provide high quality and cost effective services within HSE-funded laboratories.

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