GUIDELINES FOR THE CREDENTIALLING OF NURSE PAP SMEAR PROVIDERS

For quality and safety reasons, the Department of Health (DoH) recommends that persons registered with the Nurses and Midwives Board of WA who provide a cervical screening service apply for credentialling as a Nurse Pap smear provider. (NPSP)

INTRODUCTION

Although approximately thirty women in Western Australia die of cervical cancer each year, the condition is one of the most preventable and curable of all cancers.¹

The incidence of cervical cancer is falling, and Australia now has the second lowest incidence rate and the lowest mortality rate among developed countries with comparable cancer registration systems.^{1, 2} Outcome data from the National Cervical Screening Program (NCSP)¹ indicate that prevention, detection and treatment programs continue to be successful in reducing cervical cancer incidence and mortality.

When the NCSP program commenced in 1991, the incidence of cervical cancer in Australian women aged 20–69 years was 17.1 new cases per 100,000 women with a mortality figure of 4.0 deaths per 100,000 women. By 2004 the incidence of cervical cancer had fallen to 8.9 new cases per 100,000 women. In 2005, the mortality rate for cervical cancer was 2.0 per 100,000 women for women in the target age group 20–69 years and 1.9 per 100,000 women for women of all ages.

During the 4-year period 2002–2005, there were 560 deaths in major cities (62.7% of all cervical cancer deaths in that period), 308 deaths in regional areas (34.5% of all cervical cancer deaths) and 19 deaths in remote areas (2.1% of all cervical cancer deaths). As the 700 cases detected each year have been seen to occur predominantly in unscreened or under-screened women the decline in morbidity and mortality has been attributed to the success of the national cervical screening programs.

The WA Cervical Cancer Prevention Program (WACCPP) reminds women to attend for Pap smears when they are overdue for regular screening, follows up women with abnormal findings, promotes cervical cancer screening and provides screening history data to laboratories to assist in the diagnosis of cervical abnormalities. With the assistance of nurses and medical officers, 19,500 Pap smear or other cervical test results are received every month, and approximately 1,500 follow-up and reminder letters are generated each week by the WACCPP.

Paul Whitby
ACTING CHIEF NURSING & MIDWIFERY OFFICER
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF NURSING & MIDWIFERY OFFICER