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The appointment of an independent chair of the CervicalCheck Committee has been welcomed by the 221+ Patient Support Group.
Professor Anne Scott, NUI Galway’s Vice President for Equality and Diversity was appointed Independent Chair of the CervicalCheck Steering Committee on Monday.
In announcing the appointment, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said: “Significant progress has been made in addressing the issues that the Committee was originally set to handle in 2018, which is why I have asked Professor Scott, in consultation with key stakeholders, consider what the key terms of reference are for the next phase of work.
“I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to the members of the Committee since 2018 for the important work done to date and the vital role they have played in the political response to the many issues that arose in relation to the CervicalCheck program. . “
The CervicalCheck Steering Committee was established in June 2018 and is mandated to oversee the implementation of the recommendations from Dr. Gabriel Scally’s September 2018 Scoping Report on the failures of national cervical cancer screening services.
Activists from the 221+ group withdrew from the talks claiming they had not been heard in November.
The group had asked that the court not present confrontations and had also expressed concern about the statute of limitations and believed that women should be able to return if their cancer returns or their health deteriorates significantly.
To date, no women have been through the Court system as they have been detained due to these ongoing problems.
A statement from the group welcomed the appointment of Professor Scott.
“We acknowledge and appreciate the response of the Government and Minister Donnelly in highlighting its importance with the appointment of an Independent President,” they said.
“Restoring public confidence in cervical cancer screening will come from a combination of accepting the failures of the past and building a better resourced, better managed and better governed system delivered with a commitment to providing the best service. possible to women as defined by how it treats the most vulnerable and uncertain.
“Unfortunately, while we too want to move on, we remain unconvinced that the lessons of the past have been learned.
“Planning for the future is being defined and spoken exclusively in terms of the system and its needs, excluding the experience and voice of the patient.”
The group says this was “most starkly illustrated in comments made by the CervicalCheck Clinical Director last week at the Oireachtas Health Committee and in subsequent media contributions.”
CervicalCheck’s clinical director, Dr. Nóirín Russell, in a letter dated November 6 to TD Peadar Tóibín, disagreed with comments he made in the Dáil on October 21, claiming that the system may have harmed women in last.
The support group of more than 221 patients is deeply concerned by the comments attributed to @russellnoirin at the Oireachtas Health Committee this afternoon regarding the future of the #CervicalCheck Program. 1/2
– 221+ (@ 221plus) December 9, 2020
Stating instead: “In fact, they have been unlucky enough not to be one of those with early detected cancer.”
221+ say “these comments go against what we understand to be the stated position of the HSE and the Government regarding the missteps of the past, as established by two statements by Taoisigh in Dáil.”
“In the context of those concerns, we welcome confirmation of Professor Scott’s appointment and will be in contact with her in the coming days to raise our particular concerns and fears.”
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