Scoping Inquiry into the CervicalCheck Screening Programme

Reports
Implementation Plans
Terms of Reference

On 8 May 2018, Government approved the establishment of a Scoping Inquiry into the CervicalCheck Screening Programme, to be undertaken by Dr Gabriel Scally (Professor of Public Health at the University of the West of England and the University of Bristol).

On 11 June 2018, Dr Scally submitted a Progress Report and a First Report to the Minister. These Reports outlined work that had been undertaken to that date and made six recommendations, including suggesting changes to the information provided by CervicalCheck to those receiving the service.

On 12 September 2018, the Final Report of the Scoping Inquiry into CervicalCheck was published on the website of the Department of Health.

Following the publication of the Final Report, the Minister for Health also requested that Dr Scally provide a supplementary report into certain further aspects of the laboratories, such as procurement, quality and accreditation arrangements, and governance structures.

On 11 June 2019, The Minister for Health published the Supplementary Report of the Scoping Inquiry into the CervicalCheck Programme, following a Government decision. Dr Scally made two further recommendations in this Report in relation to procurement and quality assurance processes, which were accepted by Government.

The Implementation Plan for the recommendations of the Scoping Inquiry was approved by Government and published on 12 December. Dr Scally provided formal observations on the Plan to the Minister, and these have been incorporated. The Implementation Plan, published below, includes implementation actions for all 58 recommendations of the Scoping Inquiry.

Dr Scally was requested to undertake a further implementation review, and this took place in late 2019. The report of this Review of the Implementation of the Recommendations of the Scoping Inquiry into CervicalCheck was received by the Department in April 2020. The Minister published it on the Department’s website on 21 December 2020.

This Review details the progress achieved in the implementation of recommendations of the Scoping Inquiry up to the end of 2019. Dr Scally reports that there has been substantial progress in the implementation of his recommendations since the publication of his Final report in September 2018.

The Minister for Health asked Dr Gabriel Scally to conduct a final progress review of implementation of the recommendations of his Scoping Inquiry into the CervicalCheck screening programme (January 2022). Dr Scally submitted his final review of progress on implementation of his recommendations to the Minister for Health in November 2022.