Welcome to our new newsletter

Welcome to the latest news update from the National Screening Service. We’ve introduced this email format for our updates to improve how we share news with you.  You’ll find our latest news below.

We would welcome your feedback - please contact us at communications@screeningservice.ie.

How community worker Rola is using her experience of breast cancer to support migrant women to take part in breast screening

When HSE community worker Rola Abu Zeid O’Neill joined our Community Champions Project, her goal was to help women in her community understand why screening matters.

“I wanted to help other women understand how important early detection is,” says Rola. “So many times, we hear about someone being diagnosed with stage 3 or 4 cancer - and by then, it’s often very serious.” 

What Rola couldn’t have expected, though, was that this work would end up having an impact on her own life. She noticed a change in the shape of her breast, and because of her knowledge of breast cancer from her Community Champions training, she went to her GP straight away.

Marking International Women’s Day on 8 March

We marked International Women’s Day on 8 March by celebrating the women on our Patient and Public Partnership (PPP). We asked our PPP representatives to tell us why they give their time as PPP representatives, and what they hope others gain from their involvement in our PPP.

Eight women took part in our International Women’s Day initiative, and we shared their voices on our social media platforms in the week running up to International Women’s Day.

HIQA report finds BreastCheck has high compliance with European radiation safety standards

The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) completed an inspection of our BreastCheck Eccles unit in Dublin and found that it meets the high standards set out in the European regulations governing the use of radiation in healthcare.

HIQA’s inspection report on the Eccles unit found that we are keeping people safe during screening by using radiation carefully, saying that our staff demonstrate “a strong commitment to radiation protection practices”.

Equity in action: Community partnerships make a difference in 2025

Improving equity in screening is an important aspect of our work, and in 2025, we increased our involvement in communities across Ireland.

Last year, we trained 54 community champions through two groups: the Roma Health Network and HSE Dublin North City and County. And we worked with the non-profit organisation, Cairde, to train Roma peer workers.

The impact of community champions in encouraging women to take up cervical screening was the subject of an article on 26 January in the Irish Examiner which featured Dr Elena Holub, a community champion who came to Cork from Ukraine four years ago. Dr Holub helps with translations for Ukrainian patients as part of her work to promote cervical screening awareness and uptake among the Ukrainian community.

You can keep up to date with our latest news and follow us on our social media platforms: