Cervical cancer screening

Press, 29 October 1987, Page 3

Cervical cancer screening

Funding for a cervical cancer screening programme for low-income women is being offered by the Health Department The department’s acting manager of primary health care, Dr Bob Boyd, said that $30,000 a year for up to three years had been made available from the Primary Health Care Initiatives Fund. "Any innovative way of improving screening rates among low-income women will be considered. These women find it difficult to gain access to cervical screening services that are acceptable to them,” said Dr Boyd. ‘.‘Screening - services cojgs be taken to workplaces to reach lower-paid

working women, or other venues convenient for women at home, or unemployed women.” Dr Boyd said another pilot cervical cancer screening project had already been set up under the Primary Health Care Initiatives Fund earlier this year. This involved co-opera-tion among general practitioners in Oamaru to make sure all women patients were' regularly recalled for screening checks. Application to run a pilot screening programme for low-income women should be sent to Dr Bob Boyd, Primary Health Care Programme, Health Department, P.O. Box 5013, WelllJbon, by December 1. 19