Leading healthcare provider, ProCare, has called on Te Whatu Ora | Health New Zealand to provide increased access to HPV screening for women across Aotearoa by allowing Registered Nurses (RNs) who haven’t completed the cervical sample taker training to be able to undertake HPV Primary Screening aka self-testing.

Bindi Norwell, Chief Executive at ProCare says: “So far, we believe the HPV self-screening programme has made significant headway in achieving the objectives of providing less invasive screening to meet cultural needs, targeting under-screen populations, and increasing equity for wāhine Māori, Pacific peoples, and the Rainbow community. Therefore, we pass on our congratulations to Te Whatu Ora for the fantastic progress made to date!

“However, we believe that the final objective – reducing barriers to access – could still be enhanced even further by allowing Registered Nurses (RNs) who haven’t completed the cervical sample taker training to be able to undertake HPV Primary Screening aka self-testing, thereby ultimately protecting more women from developing HPV in the future,” she continues.

“We have a duty to advocate on behalf of the communities we serve, and our priority is to get as many women screened as quickly as possible – especially those who are overdue, so that we have less wāhine dying of cervical cancer in the future,” points out Norwell.

Dr Allan Moffitt, Clinical Director at ProCare says: “Survey after survey has shown New Zealand’s medical workforce is burnt out. Allowing nurses to take on more responsibility within the practice will help ease the pressure on GPs, support more effective workforce practices and reduce waiting times for patients.

“Allowing RNs to take on a greater role in this space will also ensure we meet our commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles by implementing whānau-centred care models that actively involve families and communities in healthcare decisions, care planning, and support processes.

“As we know there are many challenges when seeking to deliver healthcare in a culturally appropriate context and improving the equity of health outcomes particularly for Māori, Pacific, and low socioeconomic groups is a Ministry-wide and ProCare priority,” concludes Dr Moffitt.