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February 2024

In this Sector Update

Whakarongorau Sector Support

Regional Workshops and Funding

Updating Sex Assigned at Birth

Pacific Resources and Colposcopy Explainer Videos

Expanding the Screen Taker Workforce

Kia ora koutou,


Almost 6 months in since the launch of HPV Primary Screening in Aotearoa and we continue to get feedback from screen-takers across the motu, that they are seeing more unscreened people coming forward for an HPV self-test.


Thank you all for your mahi and feedback as we transition to the next phase of the Programme.


Whakarongorau Helpline and Sector Support

Whakarongorau Aotearoa has been running an HPV Helpline since September 12, 2023, to provide support for the implementation of the new National Cervical Screening Register(NCSP-R) and HPV primary screening pathway.


The Helpline team received calls on the 0800 729 729 number as overflow from the Regional NCSP Coordination Centres and offered assistance to programme participants, the general public, cervical screen takers, and others who required information about HPV primary screening. A Clinical Nurse Lead – HPV was employed to provide support for callers who had more complicated or clinical issues and the Clinical Leads in the NCSP were available to assist with the very complex issues.


Now that enquiries are back to manageable levels, the Helpline service will end on March 3, 2024, and all calls to 0800 729 729 will return to being directly answered by the Regional NCSP Coordination Centres.


The Clinical Nurse Lead – HPV role held by Bridgette Love, has proven successful and will continue to be available as a subject matter expert on the Cervical Screening HPV programme.

Regional Workshops and Funding

Regional workshops were held online in February to collaborate with partners in primary care, PHOs, Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa (formerly Family Planning), Support to Screening Services, Hauora Māori partners, Pacific health partners, Te Whatu Ora Regional Commissioning and Public Health teams, and Te Aka Whai Ora.


The workshops provided the opportunity to review what has been achieved to date and begin working together on what we want to achieve moving forward. Key topics included funding models for HPV primary screening, NCSP information systems (including PMS integrations and access to NCSP-Register data) and strengthening whānau-centred ways of working.


It was incredibly helpful for the NCSP to hear what’s been working well, what needs improvement, and future priorities from partners delivering cervical screening services.


Opportunities to join in-depth design groups for each of the topic areas will follow, with an initial priority to focus on the funding model and ensure pricing and funding models are agreed by the end of March. For primary care, this will then progress through a PSAAP process.


For further information on the design groups, please email Nikki Canter-Burgoyne Nikki.Canter-Burgoyne@TeWhatuOra.govt.nz

Updating Sex Assigned at Birth

The new National Cervical Screening Programme (NCSP) Register automatically includes anyone, who is aged 25-69 and whose NHI gender is recorded as female.


Where someone’s needs are different to what their gender data suggests, ‘sex assigned at birth’ can be manually entered in the NCSP Register – this will manually include them in the programme.


We ask that providers with transgender and non-binary patients to please ensure your patients’ ‘sex assigned at birth’ is entered in the Register.


Individuals or their clinicians can update their ‘sex assigned at birth’ via email: info@ncspregister.health.nz or phone 0800 729 729.


To support you in your kōrero with people round cervical screening, we have developed Rainbow resources which can be downloaded or ordered from HealthEd.

Pacific Resources

The process is underway to make key consumer information available in nine Pacific languages.  These include:

  • Samoan  

  • Tongan

  • Cook Island Māori  

  • Niuean

  • Fijian

  • Fijian Hindi

  • Tokelauan

  • Tuvaluan

  • Kiribati


We hope to make these available for download on HealthEd along with a number of other translations and accessibility formats, from April.


New Colposcopy Explainer Videos

In addition to the existing explainer videos: How to do the self-test and Having a cervical sample taken there is now also a Colposcopy: what you need to know video to help inform participants and their whānau. The videos are currently available in Te Reo Māori and English, with or without captions, and Pacific English versions are just being completed. These will be added to the Time to Screen website and included in the next update of the Provider Toolkits on Te Whatu Ora’s site in March. In the meantime, you can view and download the new Colposcopy videos here.


The full sets of all toolkit assets can be found on the Te Whatu Ora website, or directly through these links:
Pacific campaign Provider Toolkit

Māori and general audience provider toolkit

Screen Taker Workforce Expansion

Work is underway to develop training for Kaimahi working in Screening Support Services to offer HPV self-testing.


Currently the groups who can facilitate HPV self-testing are accredited cervical sample takers and HPV screen takers (nurses and nurse practitioners who are working in a professional partnership).


A focus group of Kaimahi and Nurses working in Screening and Support Services will work together with NCSP over the next 6 weeks to develop learning outcomes, capabilities and training and assessment materials.


More information can be found here: HPV screen-takers.  

Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand
133 Molesworth Street, Thorndon
HPVScreen@health.govt.nz
tewhatuora.govt.nz