Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 February 2022
818. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health the steps he is taking to fulfil the Programme for Government commitment to support the CervicalCheck Screening Programme and to promote the uptake of the HPV vaccine. [5166/22]
View answerThe Programme for Government commits to fully implement the recommendations contained in Dr Scally’s Report of the Scoping Inquiry, and all other reports into CervicalCheck.
Significant progress has been made in this regard. The Department of Health publishes quarterly progress reports on implementation of Dr Scally's recommendations, and at the end of quarter three 2021, 164 of the 170 actions, arising from 58 recommendations, are completed. Work is well underway in completing the six remaining actions, which are all 'in progress'. Dr Scally last reported on the implementation of the recommendations of his Scoping Inquiry in April 2020. In this review report, Dr Scally says that substantial progress has been made, the vast majority of actions were on track or were completed, and he is satisfied with the approach and structures in place for implementation. I have asked Dr Gabriel Scally to conduct a final progress review of implementation of the recommendations of his Scoping Inquiry into the CervicalCheck screening programme. Dr Scally has agreed it is now timely to conduct a final progress review and is commencing this work in January 2022.
I am pleased to advise that despite the impact of COVID-19 on our health services, CervicalCheck is currently up to date with invites for screening. In addition, in 2021 there has been a significant uptake of cervical screening, ahead of their targets by 14%. During Cervical Cancer Prevention Week (17 – 23 January), CervicalCheck promoted how women can reduce their risk of this disease and the steps they can take to look after their health. CervicalCheck took this opportunity to highlight the importance of women over 50 accessing their services. They are continuing to promote such throughout this year and are planning targeted media campaigns for specific age groups and geographical locations to encourage women to attend. Further information can be found on the HSE website.
Regarding the current recorded uptake rate for the first dose of the HPV vaccine, in the 2020/2021 academic year, is 76%. The current recorded uptake rate for the second dose of the HPV vaccine in this academic year is 65%. It should be noted that some areas are yet to input some, or all, of their data for both dose 1 and 2 so these figures are expected to increase. The roll-out of the 2021/2022 HPV vaccination programme is underway and its delivery remains a priority for the HSE.
The HSE National Immunisation Office (NIO) promote HPV vaccine at key opportunities in order to achieve an increase in uptake rates. For example, during Cervical Cancer Prevention Week the NIO actively utilised social media to promote the facts surrounding HPV vaccination. In addition, when the immunisation school teams are offering the 2nd dose of HPV vaccine during this school term, the HSE will again support their work through campaigns using social and traditional media channels.
It may be of interest that the HSE has begun working with stakeholders and academics in Australia to develop a model to set a target date to work towards cervical cancer elimination in Ireland. We are in a fortunate position in Ireland to aim for this type of cancer to become a rare disease due to the combination of HPV vaccination programme and the CervicalCheck screening programme.
