Media Release

27 August 2001

Steady progress in implementing Gisborne recommendations

The Ministry of Health continues to make steady progress implementing 37 of the 46 recommendations of the Gisborne Cervical Screening Inquiry Report, and completing another eight.

The Ministry's fourth monthly report updating progress on implementing the recommendations is now available on the internet (www.csi.org.nz).

"This is the fourth report produced by the Ministry of Health charting our progress on implementing the recommendations", Deputy Director-General, Public Health Dr Don Matheson said.

Dr Matheson said progress had been made in a number of areas in the past month, including:

• The Cancer Audit (part three of the national evaluation) project continues to meet key milestones. A draft of part two of the national evaluation has been completed by Otago University.
  
• The first independent monitoring group report of the National Cervical Screening Programme has been released (30 July).
  

• Analysis of the 101 public submissions received in response to proposed law changes supporting the audit of the National Cervical Screening programme is now complete.
  

• An extension to the period of consultation (due to end 31 July) on the draft operational standards for Health and Disability Ethics Committees has been given to enable completion of a joint submission from Ethics Committees.

Dr Matheson said as a result of the extension being granted one of the recommendations which had been considered complete was now classified as 'still underway' and the Ministry now counted eight recommendations complete rather than nine as had been announced in the previous month's report.

Dr Matheson said a considerable amount of work was proceeding behind the scenes with implementing the recommendations.

Here is a link to the report (PDF, 273 kB).

For more information contact:

Peter Abernethy
Communications Manager
Tel: 04 496 2008
Mob: 025 477 036

http://www.moh.govt.nz/media.html