BowelScreen, BreastCheck and CervicalCheck are

cancer screening Cancer screening aims to detect cancer before symptoms appear. This may involve blood tests, urine tests, 23andme, DNA tests, other tests, or medical imaging. The benefits of screening in terms of cancer prevention, early detection and subsequent ...

programmes organised by the

Health Service Executive The Health Service Executive (HSE) ( ga, Feidhmeannacht na Seirbhíse Sláinte) is the publicly funded healthcare system in Ireland, responsible for the provision of health and personal social services. It came into operation on 1 January 2005 ...

(HSE) in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

BowelScreen

BowelScreen is the national bowel cancer screening programme. It was launched in November 2012 by

Minister for Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

James Reilly, with the eventual aim of providing bi-annual screening to men and women aged 55–74.

BreastCheck

BreastCheck is the national

breast cancer screening Breast cancer screening is the medical screening of asymptomatic, apparently healthy women for breast cancer in an attempt to achieve an earlier diagnosis. The assumption is that early detection will improve outcomes. A number of screening tests ...

programme. It was initially founded under

Micheál Martin Micheál Martin (; born 1 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who is serving as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence since December 2022. He served as Taoiseach from 2020 to 2022 and has been Leader of ...

's tenure as

Minister for Health and Children The Minister for Health ( ga, An tAire Sláinte) is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Health. The Minister for Health is responsible for healthcare in the Republic of Ireland and related services. The c ...

in October 2000 as a pilot in a limited number of

health boards NHS Scotland, sometimes styled NHSScotland, is the publicly funded healthcare system in Scotland and one of the four systems that make up the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. It operates 14 territorial NHS boards across Scotland, ...

. Over 70% of the women invited to take part in the screening in the first year, accepted.

CervicalCheck

CervicalCheck is the national

cervical screening Cervical screening is the process of detecting and removing abnormal tissue or cells in the cervix before cervical cancer develops. By aiming to detect and treat cervical neoplasia early on, cervical screening aims at secondary prevention of cervi ...

programme. It was launched in September 2008 as the public name of the National Cancer Screening Service. In May 2008, then Chief Executive Officer Tony O'Brien dismissed claims that misdiagnoses would result from the use of US-based lab

Quest Diagnostics Quest Diagnostics is an American clinical laboratory. A Fortune 500 company, Quest operates in the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Brazil. Quest also maintains collaborative agreements with various hospitals and clinics across the glob ...

2018

On 26 April 2018, the HSE confirmed that 206 women developed cervical cancer after having a screening test which was subsequently deemed to be potentially inaccurate on lookback, once a woman presented with a confirmed diagnosis of Cervical Cancer and given the known limitations of screening using smear technology. In May, HSE director-general Tony O’Brien took temporary leave of absence from the board of a US medical company amid renewed calls for him to stand aside from his position due to the ongoing controversy. Tony O'Brien announced his resignation as director-general of the HSE with effect from close of business on 11 May.

References

Cancer screening Healthcare in the Republic of Ireland {{Pathology-stub