Welcome to our latest news summary featuring updates from across the National Screening Service. To keep up to date with all of our news, read our blogs and follow us on X @NSShse.
Breaking down barriers: new study captures experiences of people with disabilities to help improve participation in screening services
We’ve published a new report outlining the findings of a study to assess the needs of disabled people in accessing our screening programmes. It’s the first study of its kind to be carried out in Ireland and we worked with researchers from Dublin City University to complete the study.
Breaking down barriers aimed to capture the experiences of people who have disabilities as they participate in our four national screening programmes. We wanted to find out how our screening services could adapt to meet the needs of people with disabilities, including:
- how people are made aware of screening services
- how the screening process is communicated
- physical access to spaces.
We set up an advisory group in 2021 to inform the development of the study and to ensure it was inclusive of disabled people.
Some of the barriers to attending screening that were identified included letters with too much text, and logistical difficulties associated with long distances to screening facilities.
Disabled people also reported positive experiences of using screening services including the willingness of staff to provide appointments of longer duration, staff who were supportive and compassionate and the information being provided in different formats, including Braille.
The report is available in various accessible formats: a screen reader accessible version, an easy-read summary, a plain English summary and an Irish Sign Language video summary.
New nationwide Diabetic RetinaScreen services contract from January 2024
We’ve awarded a new contract for diabetic retina screening services following a procurement process. This new contract is with NEC Care which will provide Diabetic RetinaScreen services nationwide from 01 January 2024.
We’ve been working with NEC Care since 2013. It provides diabetic retina screening services for us in many places around Ireland. In addition to continuing screening in its previous locations, NEC Care will start screening in nine Leinster counties from January 2024 where screening was provided previously by a different contractor.
This change will have no impact on how often people are invited for screening or on the quality of the service they receive. People will continue to be invited for screening when they are due. We are writing to people whose screening was previously provided by a different contractor to let them know about this change. We offer screening in over 130 places nationally.
New edition of Quality Assurance standards for colorectal screening
We’ve published a new edition of Standards for Quality Assurance in Colorectal Screening. It sets out the quality standards and requirements that we use to measure all aspects of the BowelScreen programme performance including administration, the faecal immunochemical test (FIT), endoscopy, radiology, histopathology and treatment.
Quality Assurance (QA) is the process of checking that standards are met, and it encourages continuous improvement. Each part of the screening process is fully quality assured and monitored to ensure it adheres to the highest international standards and delivers the best possible outcomes.
The QA committee for colorectal screening regularly monitors and measures performance against these standards to make sure we are meeting our purpose.
The BowelScreen Clinical Advisory Group sets quality standards and makes recommendations on clinical aspects of the programme. The standards are kept under review and revised, as necessary, when new evidence or data becomes available.
We’ll carry out a formal review of the standards in line with our QA Policy Framework within five years.
Could HPV self-sampling increase participation in cervical screening?
We’ve recently completed research to better understand the potential role of HPV self-sampling for cervical screening in Ireland. It’s part of our work to increase uptake in cervical screening and make it more equitable. We want to understand more about women’s attitudes and preferences to HPV self-sampling and whether they would be interested in using this method of screening through the CervicalCheck programme.
The research was survey-based and asked women their intended preferences for self-sampling or for screening as normal with a GP or practice nurse, before and after being shown additional information on how to take a self-collected sample. We found little difference between the preferences of survey participants before and after being shown the additional information.
Results by screening experience show that 65% of those who were never screened and 62% of those who were under-screened would choose self-sampling. 41% of those who have attended cervical screening regularly would choose self-sampling. These preliminary results are the first indication that the introduction of HPV self-sampling has the potential to increase the number of women who participate in cervical screening in Ireland.
We’re considering the survey findings alongside the results of our survey on the attitudes of sample takers towards self-sampling. We’re also considering additional research that would further inform how self-sampling could be introduced in Ireland.
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More news in brief
Some of our recently published blogs include:
- New framework enhances inclusive and transparent stakeholder engagement process at the National Screening Service
- Understanding cancer screening among people with intellectual disabilities in Ireland
- Supporting women living with HIV in Ireland on the road to cervical cancer elimination
- GPs and practice nurses show support for the introduction of HPV self-sampling in cervical screening, new research indicates
We value your feedback. Please contact us at communications@screeningservice.ie