16 Dec 2019, 17:11
The Health Committee will discuss the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) CervicalCheck review with patient representatives Stephen Teap and Lorraine Walsh tomorrow, Tuesday, in Leinster House, Committee Room 3 at 5pm.
Mr Teap and Ms Walsh were appointed as patient representatives to the steering committee set up to oversee changes in CervicalCheck. Ms Walsh resigned from the group this month following the publication of the independent RCOG report into CervicalCheck.
Speaking before the meeting, Committee Chair Dr Michael Harty TD said: “The RCOG review gives a clear insight into not just the limitations of screening but also the impact of an incorrect reading on the lives of women where cancer could have been prevented or could have been picked up at an early stage thus avoiding extensive treatment like chemotherapy or the need for a hysterectomy. That is why it is important as part of the Committee’s review that we hear from the patient representatives especially around the issue of communications and about placing women at the centre of screening.”
The RCOG review examined the screening histories of women who had participated in the CervicalCheck screening programme, and who had developed cervical cancer prior to 5th May 2018.
The RCOG expert panel disagreed with the CervicalCheck results in 308 out of 1034 cancer cases. But overall the review found the CervicalCheck programme is working effectively. The Committee will hear from the RCOG panel and from Cervicalcheck at its meeting on Wednesday 18th at 10 am.
Watch the Committee live here.