Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 September 2018
169. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health his plans to build up the capacity of public labs based here to conduct all CervicalCheck screening in the future on foot of the Scally report; if he will initiate a program of university graduate and undergraduate classes necessary to train the required number of medical scientists for such a scenario; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38945/18]
View answerMy priority is and will remain the provision of services of the highest quality. It is important to be clear that the Report of the Scoping Inquiry into CervicalCheck, published on 12 September on the website of my Department, provides welcome reassurance on the quality of all laboratories currently contracted to provide services for CervicalCheck, including the private laboratories contracted both in Ireland and America (Medlab Pathology and Quest Diagnostics, respectively) and the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital in Dublin.
Switching to HPV testing as the primary screening mechanism will require a reconfiguration of laboratory services. While it is likely that a tendering process will be needed to meet at least some of the HPV testing requirement, the potential to use public laboratories in Ireland to carry out testing for the programme is being carefully assessed as part of the planning of this major project.
