Vol. 544 No. 3
329 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will outline the development of free mammography and cervical cancer screening services to women in each health board area; and the status of pilot projects in each of these regions. [28888/01]
BreastCheck, the national breast screening programme, commenced in February 2000 with phase one of the programme covering the Eastern Regional Health Authority, Midland Health Board and North-Eastern Health Board areas. It is expected that phase one will be completed by December 2002. To date over 50,000 women have been called for screening and over 34,000 women have been screened. Counties Longford, Westmeath, Meath and areas of Dublin have been screened and BreastCheck is currently screening more areas in Dublin and County Louth and County Kildare. The decision to proceed on a phased basis is a reflection of the complexities involved in the screening process and my Department's key objective is to ensure that the programme is driven by international quality assurance criteria and best practice. BreastCheck is currently in consultation with the health boards concerning the roll out of the programme nationwide.
Phase one of the national cervical screening programme was launched in October 2000 to cover the Mid-Western Health Board area. Under phase one, cervical screening is being offered free of charge to approximately 67,000 women in the 25-60 age group at five yearly intervals. As with BreastCheck, it is important to have a national cervical screening programme which is underpinned by quality assurance and best practice. The experience gained from phase one will facilitate the process of planning and organising the roll out of this programme. Currently the chief executive officers of the health boards are involved in an examination of the feasibility and implications of extending the programme to the rest of the country.
