Photo: SuppliedThose who have been pressing for improvements to the national cervical screening programme will be pleased at the recent announcement from Associate Health Minister Ayesha Verrall. Making the announcement, Dr Verrall said clinical modelling predicted the change to HPV screening would prevent about 400 additional cervical cancers over 17 years and save about 138 lives. Cervical cancer is not among the top 10 cancer killers in the country but each year about 50 women a year die from it and 160 develop the disease. Despite its obvious value, cervical screening seems to have been the poor screening relation in recent years, particularly with the push for the bowel programme. As the 2019 report of the parliamentary review committee regarding the National Screening Programme said: ‘‘Population-based screening is an organised, integrated process where all activities along the screening pathway are planned, co-ordinated, monitored and evaluated through a quality improvement framework.

Source: Otago Daily Times May 12, 2021 16:30 UTC