Regular cervical screening ‘could save 75 lives a year’

REGULAR cervical cancer screening could save the lives of 75 Irish women yearly, an Oireachtas committee heard yesterday.

Failure to operate a national screening programme was described as a “national disgrace” during an Irish Cancer Society presentation to the Joint Committee on Health and Children.

Tánaiste and Health Minister Mary Harney is expected to present a progress report on the €25 million programme to the committee next month. Last week, she asked the HSE for an implementation plan for a national programme.