Population screening programmes have a key role to play in early detection of disease and a range of programmes are currently available in Northern Ireland. The PHA has responsibility for commissioning, coordinating and quality assuring these programmes.
The Northern Ireland Cancer Registry (NICR) is run under agreement between the Public Health Agency and Queen's University of Belfast .
There are 11 PHA commissioning teams:
Neonatal Intensive Care Outcomes Research and Evaluation (NICORE) has been routinely collecting data on neonatal units in Northern Ireland since 1994. We use this data to monitor a number of key quality markers and to ensure consistently high standards of care so that all babies admitted to a neonatal unit in Northern Ireland will benefit. The NICORE database is an important source of information which allows:
NIMACH (Northern Ireland Maternal and Child Health) collects and analyses data in support of Clinical Outcome Review Programmes.
The Clinical Outcome Review Programmes (previously known as confidential enquiries), are designed to help assess the quality of healthcare, and stimulate improvement in safety and effectiveness by systematically enabling clinicians, managers and policy makers to learn from adverse events and other relevant data. The programmes have a key role in supporting local, continuous improvements to service quality.
Newborn hearing screeningAbout 1 in every 1,000 babies is born with a significant hearing loss. The current screening programme, which has been in place since October 2005, is offered to all newborn infants.
The aim of the screening programme is to reduce the effects of permanent childhood hearing impairment (PCHI) on the development of speech and communication skills, by achieving early diagnosis and treatment.
The aim of the cervical cancer screening programme is to reduce the number of women who develop cervical cancer and the number of women who die from it.
It tries to do this by testing as many women as possible, examining the test results and referring the women for further treatment if any early warning signs are present.
Bowel cancer is a significant cause of ill health and premature death.
The breast screening programme covers the whole of Northern Ireland. The programme invites women by GP practice every three years. A woman might be aged 50, 51 or 52 when she receives her first invite to attend – the first invitation will be before the age of 53.
In order to be invited women must ensure that their GP has their correct name and current address on their computer system.
