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Press release

Minister Donnelly welcomes significant progress made in implementation of Scally Recommendations

The Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly today welcomed the significant progress made in implementing the recommendations of Dr Scally’s Scoping Inquiry into the CervicalCheck screening programme.

The latest quarterly progress report published today shows that just 4 of 170 actions, arising from Dr Scally’s recommendations, remained to be completed at end 2021.

The Minister acknowledged the significant effort and commitment made by his department, the HSE and the National Cancer Registry of Ireland, working closely with stakeholders including patient advocates, in implementing the recommendations. The CervicalCheck Steering Committee chaired by Professor Anne Scott, and which includes the 221+ Group and patient advocates, has an oversight role in implementation of the recommendations.

Minister Donnelly said:

"It is clear from the report published today, that considerable progress has been made in implementing Dr Scally’s recommendations. Just 4 of the 170 actions arising now remain to be completed, and these are all in progress. I want to acknowledge the significant work completed so far by everyone involved in implementation, including the CervicalCheck Steering Committee, and the ongoing commitment to progressing these actions, promoting public trust and confidence in our screening services and achieving positive changes in our health system."

The Minister continued:

"I recently asked Dr Gabriel Scally to conduct a final progress review of implementation of his recommendations, and this work is now underway. Progressing this final review is in line with our Programme for Government commitments, including the advancement of the women’s health agenda. I’d like to acknowledge Dr Scally’s continued commitment to this important work, which has already made a considerable contribution to developments in our health system and ensuring Ireland has a robust screening service, which will enable our progress towards the ultimate goal of elimination of cervical cancer."

The Quarter 4, 2021 quarterly progress report on the implementation of Dr Scally’s recommendations is published on the Department of Health website. This latest report shows that at end 2021, 166 out of 170 actions are now completed, and the 4 remaining actions are ‘in progress’ and a priority focus for completion in 2022.


Notes

Further information about Dr Scally’s Scoping Inquiry and implementation, including quarterly progress reports published by the Department of Health, are available here: Scoping Inquiry into the CervicalCheck Screening Programme

Further information about the CervicalCheck Steering Committee is available here: CervicalCheck Steering Committee