10265 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister of Health

10265 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister of Health: What progress, if any, has been made in the quarter October – December 2023 to ‘Improve Māori and Pacific participation in breast, cervical and bowel screening through targeted approaches with Māori and Pacific community providers’ under section 2.3 ‘Mate pukupuku | People with cancer’ within Te Whatu Ora’s Te Pae Tata: Interim New Zealand Health Plan 2022?

Hon Dr Shane Reti: I am advised that during the October - December 2023 quarter, several initiatives were progressed to improve Māori and Pacific participation in breast, cervical, and bowel screening. These included: • An Investment Case was developed and approved in response to the 26 recommendations of the 2022 Quality Improvement Review of Clinical Quality and Safety of BreastScreen Aotearoa. • Work commenced on identifying technical requirements to identify and contact participants to trial different outreach approaches for cervical screening. • The National Bowel Screening Solution Register was enhanced in chosen districts to enable community providers to invite participation in ways other than through the standard mail-out, and to pre-plan education within communities. • Campaigns delivered toolkits that offer community providers a menu of event collateral and artifacts to enhance their outreach activities, and to promote screening. • New cervical screening education resources were published on HealthEd, which are free to order and courier for providers. • The cervical screen taker workforce was expanded to include non-accredited nurses to provide more options for screening. • Health New Zealand commenced a centralised mailout of letters advising people who have not had cervical screening before about their eligibility. I am further advised that during the quarter work continued on developing an Action Plan for the National Cervical Screening Programme, and to implement the BreastScreen Aotearoa Clinical Quality and Safety Improvement Review Recommendations.