Dr Gabriel Scally has said he is 'concerned' at the capacity of the Health Service Executive (HSE) to deliver actions in relation to the Cervical Check programme.

A review by Dr Scally into the Department of Health's implementation plan has been published by Health Minister Simon Harris.

Dr Scally's report into Cervical Check was published in September last year, containing a number of recommendations.

The department subsequently published an implementation plan on December 11th.

Dr Scally has completed an examination into the plan.

He found: "With an implementation plan covering 131 actions against 56 original recommendations, this implementation process represents a very substantial body of work for the various statutory bodies involved".

"The implementation plan is a comprehensive response to the Scoping Inquiry report, and its resourcing and project management structures reflect the seriousness with which the plan has been developed.

"Whilst a small number of the 131 actions/subtasks are slightly behind the expected timescales or were (in late 2018) yet to commence, an opportunity exists for either the plan to be recast to reflect more achievable deadlines, or for the project leaders to get these actions back on track in the coming months."

He also noted that 71% of the implementation actions are the responsibility of the HSE "and very many of these are front-loaded".

Some 82% of all implementation actions are expected to be completed by the end of June this year.

"I have indicated my concern at the capacity of the HSE to deliver so many actions within such a short time period, and it may be prudent for the HSE to review the deadlines of some of these actions prior to the next independent progress review", Dr Scally said.

Minister Harris said he 'very much welcomed' the report: "This Government fully accepted Dr Scally's recommendations, and work is well underway in my department, as well as in the HSE and the National Cancer Registry, to ensure full implementation so that women can have absolute confidence in our cervical screening service.

"Screening saves lives and it is essential women continue to use the programme."

The minister has asked Dr Scally to conduct a further progress review during the second quarter of 2019.