Alan Farrell
Ceist:233. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Health his views with regard to the potential of early cancer screening in community pharmacies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47631/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 29 September 2022
Ceisteanna (233)
Freagraí scríofa
I am fully committed to supporting our population screening programmes which are a valuable part of our health service, enabling early treatment and care for many people, and improving the overall health of our population.?
The HSE National Screening Service (NSS), encompasses three national population-based cancer screening programmes, BreastCheck, CervicalCheck and BowelScreen. These programmes aim to reduce morbidity and mortality in the population through early detection of disease and treatment, both of which greatly improve health outcomes.
During the COVID-19 pandemic the HSE established a Community Pharmacy Contingency Planning working group with relevant stakeholders, including the Irish Pharmaceutical Union and the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland, to support the implementation of all COVID-19 support measures. This group – now called the Community Pharmacy Planning Forum – had examined the operational and clinical challenges confronting community pharmacists during the COVID-19 emergency and played a key role in resolving them to the benefit of the people of Ireland.
The work of the Forum has now transitioned to discussing the strategic direction of the community pharmacy profession. These discussions will bring clarity to the role to be played by community pharmacy in the context of Sláintecare. The central objective of Sláintecare is providing the right care, in the right place, at the right time. This means providing more care to patients in the communities in which they live. Community pharmacists will play a vital and increasing role in delivering this care. The ongoing work of the Community Pharmacy Planning Forum will also prove invaluable in the context of future contractual reform. Of course, any publicly funded pharmacy service expansion should address unmet public healthcare needs, improve access to existing public health services, and provide better value for money.
Finally, it is important to note that any decisions about changes to screening programmes, will be made on the advice of our National Screening Advisory Committee (NSAC). This independent expert group considers and assesses evidence in a robust and transparent manner, and against internationally accepted criteria. It is important we have rigorous processes in place to ensure our screening programmes are effective, quality assured and operating to safe standards, and that the benefits of screening outweigh the harms.