Harney’s reluctance to pay GPs hits smear testing

ONE of the reasons for the Department of Health’s delay in developing a national cervical cancer screening programme is the Tánaiste’s reluctance to pay GPs another €15 million annually to complete the tests, it was claimed yesterday.

Pressure has been mounting on the Tánaiste to set up a national scheme as international research has shown Irish cervical cancer figures are continuing to grow while countries with screening programmes are recording a sharp drop in incidence of the disease.

However Department of Health sources yesterday said that the Tánaiste was well disposed towards the scheme but was wary of the financial consequences for the taxpayer of making it free for all.

“In the Mid-West, the scheme is free to all and administered from GP surgeries. However, there is an awareness in the Department of Health that trained surgery nurses often do the tests in GP surgeries and that they are often preferred by women to doctors.

"On those grounds, there is an unwillingness to pay another €15 million a year to doctors for their participation in the scheme,” the source said.

A nurse-led clinic had been completing smears in the West for a number of years but the scheme was finished when the full extent of the nurses’ insurance cover was questioned.

It has also been suggested within the Department that non-medical card holders could pay for the test but this has been rejected by doctors’ groups as they believe it’s a barrier to access.

Another option that is being explored by the Department is the development of nurse-led testing clinics at hospitals, similar to BreastCheck. This set-up could overcome insurance obstacles but, internationally, all cervical screening is completed at GP clinics as these are seen as less intimidating for women.

“There is a hope that maybe the issue of fees to doctors for cervical screening could be incorporated into the overall review of the GP contracts and that a deal could be done there by March so that the project could begin roll out next year. We will have to see how it’s played,” the source added.

A spokesman for the IMO’s GP Committee was unavailable for comment yesterday.

A spokesman for the Tánaiste last night said that they were examining all the options in regard to the cervical cancer screening programme and that the Tánaiste was committed to a roll out.