Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 September 2018
167. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health the reason HSE documents that relate to the procurement and tendering of contracts for CervicalCheck were destroyed in 2017; and the steps he will take to ensure all such documents are retained and available for scrutiny in the future. [38943/18]
View answerOn 12 September, the Report of the Scoping Inquiry into the CervicalCheck programme, led by Dr Gabriel Scally, was published on the website of my Department following the Government meeting.
Dr Scally has emphasised in his Report that the continuation of cervical screening in the coming months is of crucial importance. In that context, I very much welcome the fact that he has found no reason why the existing contracts for laboratory services should not continue until the new HPV testing regime is introduced. The Report provides very welcome reassurance in regard to the quality management processes in place in the laboratories currently contracted by CervicalCheck.
As stated in the Report, the destruction of some of the original material relating to the CervicalCheck tender competitions in 2017 was in line with HSE policy for document retention and disposal. The Report sets out fifty recommendations, including a number in relation to laboratories and procurement, and the Government has committed to implementing these in full. They include a recommendation that "Winning proposals should be appended to the relevant contract and not destroyed until at least one year following the termination of the contract (and any extension thereof)" and this will be implemented.
