National Cervical Screening Programme (NCSP) Review Committee Survey for Stakeholders

A ministerial review committee is required every parliamentary term under Part 4A, section 112O of the Health Act, 1956.  The previous review committee reported to the then Associate Minister of Health in June 2011.

The National Cervical Screening Programme (NCSP) Review Committee is an independent body appointed by the Minister of Health, whose statutory functions are to review:

• the operation of the NCSP
• evaluation activities of the kind described in section 112T of the Act that have been carried out or are proposed to be carried out.

The focus of the Review Committee is the continuous quality improvement of components of the NCSP, with a view to reducing the incidence and mortality rates of cervical cancer.

The Minister of Health has appointed the following members:

• Dr Jeffrey Tan (Chair) – Jeffrey has extensive clinical expertise and research in gynaecology and colposcopy and has made a significant professional contribution to cervical screening through his teaching and translational research in HPV vaccines and HPV testing. He is highly regarded internationally for his work in gynaecology, colposcopy and HPV testing and has published extensively in the field of cervical screening, in particular in the treatment of women with cervical abnormalities and was chair of the 2011 NCSP Parliamentary Review Committee.
• Ms Linda Thompson - Linda has extensive experience in Māori health, nursing and health management.  Ms Thompson has undertaken quarterly monitoring of national reporting systems for cervical screening, laboratory testing and statistical analysis. She has public health, quality monitoring, and audit experience in both the national cervical and breast-screening programmes in New Zealand. Ms Thompson was on the 2011 NCSP Parliamentary Review Committee.
• Ms Gail Ward - Gail is the State Manager for Cancer Screening and Control Services in Tasmania, and has held this position since 2003.  She has qualifications in Medical Radiography, Mammography, Health Practice Management and Public Sector Management.  Ms Ward is a member of the Australian Standing Committee on Screening, the Australian Cervical Screening  Renewal Steering Committee, the Australian Cervical Screening Program Management Committee, the BreastScreen Australia Accreditation and Quality Management Committee, the BreastScreen Australia Program Management Committee, and the Australian Bowel Cancer Screening Program Advisory Committee.

The committee has developed the survey (available below) and would like your feedback. Please send all responses to Jeffrey Tan as the Chair by 31 January 2015. Individual responses will not be shared with the National Screening Unit or the Unit's National Cervical Screening Programme team.

National Cervical Screening Programme (NCSP) Review Committee Survey Form

Also available is a document identifying the areas for the review. The committee will be in New Zealand meeting providers and stakeholders the week of 23rd February 2015. Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey.

More information about the 2014 parliamentary review is available in the NCSP legislation pages.