Vol. 417 No. 9
228 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health if he will make a statement on recent statistics from his Department which reveal that between 60 and 80 Irish women die unnecessarily each year as a result of cervical cancer and that these deaths could have been avoided if early detection and treatment had been implemented; and the plans, if any, he has to improve detection procedures.
A cervical smear testing service is available to all women through their general practitioners, family planning clinics, maternity hospitals and special clinics organised by health boards. Smears are analysed in a number of hospital laboratories throughout the country.
The number of cervical smears tested in public hospital laboratories for diagnostic and screening purposes in 1991 was 122,000 approximately.
The Deputy will be aware that a working party was established in 1988 to review the cervical smear testing service. This group produced a very constructive interim report, the main recommendations of which are: the provision of improved training for staff; reporting time to doctors and patients not to exceed one month; abnormal results to be followed up quickly by the referring doctor with laboratory assistance; common classification to be adopted; continued availability of the service through different outlets; and laboratory procedures to be computerised.
As part of the process of implementation of the report, it was circulated for comment to those organisations most closely involved in cervical smear testing services. There has been a considerable improvement in the reporting of results of cervical smear tests over the past few years and my Department continue to monitor the reporting of results to ensure that no undue delays occur.
The comments received and the evaluation of the implementation of the recommendations to date will form the main thrust of the work of the working party, which I am currently reconvening under the terms of the Programme for Economic and Social Progress. This will also include consideration of the uptake of cervical smear testing by the target group. One of the major items to be included in the terms of reference of the reconvened committee will be a review of the operational efficiency of the test notification procedures.
