Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 June 2018
602. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Health if he has been informed by the HSE if it ensured that outsourced cervical screening tests had to be examined for a minimum amount of time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24389/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAll laboratories contracted by CervicalCheck must operate in line with Quality Assurance standards and requirements set out by the cervical screening programme. Each laboratory is subject to ongoing monitoring by the programme to ensure compliance with QA standards.
Although there are no specific guidelines in relation to how long cytology screening staff should assess an individual sample, the current standard specifies that, in order to maintain quality, accuracy and safety in the screening process, the maximum time spent on primary screening LBC smear test samples must not be exceeded. This is set as 5 hours per day.
There is a maximum screening per annum of 12000 smears. Every test is examined by two screeners. All screeners (including supervisory screening staff) are expected to maintain their competence through participation in proficiency testing schemes, recognised cervical cytopathology External Quality Assurance schemes and in-house training, as appropriate.
The clinical advice is that there is no evidence that the clinical and technical aspects of the programme have performed outside or below international standards or the quality guidelines set for the programme. Smear tests can produce both false positive and false negative results. However, the Scoping Inquiry and the Independent Clinical Expert Review will provide independent and international scrutiny of performance.
