First steps to national cervical screening

THE first steps are being taken by the Health Service Executive (HSE) towards the establishment of the long-awaited national cervical cancer screening service, it has been revealed.

However, the Irish Cancer Society (ICS), which is due to meet Tánaiste and Health Minister Mary Harney tomorrow, has warned there are still a number of "organisational hurdles" to be crossed.

The ICS is due to present the Tánaiste with a petition tomorrow of more than 53,000 signatures which it collected as part of its online campaign calling for the free national programme.

In the past week, a national steering group has been established.

It is to hold its first meeting within four weeks.

The group will be chaired by assistant national director of health protection, Dr Kevin Kelleher, and includes pathologists, gynaecologists and Irish cervical screening programme (ICSP) director Dr Marion O'Reilly.

A quality assurance scheme will also have to be established the ICS said.

Earlier this month, a Dublin mother-of-one died from cervical cancer after her smear test was misread at a time when the cancer could have been eradicated.

The case led to renewed calls for the national service, which it was claimed would be less open to such errors than the current system.

Cervical screening detects abnormal cells before they become cancerous and it is estimated a screening programme would cut cervical cancer incidence by 80%. Up to 85 Irish women die each year from the illness.

The National Cancer Registry has revealed that British cervical cancer mortality rates are declining since screening was established in the late '80s, whereas Irish mortality rates have been increasing by 1.5% per year since 1978.

It is believed it will cost €13 million to €15m per year to run a free programme which would offer smear tests to women aged approximately 25-60.

Phase one of the programme has been running in the former Mid-Western Health Board for five years.

The ICSP estimates that the national scheme could be rolled out in 12 months once its exact framework is agreed upon.

ICS nursing services manager Joan Kelly has said: "There are a number of outstanding organisational hurdles that need to be overcome. We don't have a population database for women aged 25-60 in this country. This would have to be established so that every woman would receive an invitation for screening."

A HSE spokesman said: "A national HSE ICSP steering committee is due to meet March 1, 2006, to oversee preparations through developing requirements within existing services."