Today we launch a survey to find out your views on how the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) involves stakeholders and the public in its work.
Access the survey. It should take no more than 10 to 15 minutes to complete, and the deadline for responses is 8pm on 16 December 2020.
How stakeholders help the UK NSC
The UK NSC is a scientific advisory committee that provides independent advice to ministers and the NHS on all aspects of national population screening. It has made recommendations on whether or not to introduce population screening programmes for over 100 conditions.
We couldn’t carry out this work without drawing on the research, expertise and experiences of a broad range of people and organisations. This includes:
- people affected by a condition reviewed by the UK NSC and the organisations that represent their views
- professionals working in relevant fields across the NHS (clinicians, nurses, laboratory staff) and their professional bodies, such as the Royal Colleges
- researchers and academics working in relevant fields
- NHS commissioners
- civil servants and parliamentarians with interests in screening
- biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies
We involve these stakeholders in different ways. For example, we consult them on reviews of evidence that we carry out to inform our decisions, and we hold workshops to discuss future research that could address gaps in the evidence. We put out an annual call for proposals for new screening programmes (this year’s call is still open).
We’re also interested in the views of people who do not have a special interest in screening. Most of us will be offered a screening test at some time in our lives after all. We are currently partnering with Genomics England and Sciencewise to explore the views of members of the public on the implications of genomic technology for newborn screening. We will be publishing the findings in the spring.
Let us know what you think
But there is always room for improvement. Today’s survey seeks views on how people find the experience of contributing to the UK NSC’s work, and whether people would value more or different ways of getting involved. We would like to take the opportunity to find out views on the UK NSC’s work more generally as well.
Responses to the survey will be anonymous and will help us plan how the UK NSC involves stakeholders and the public in its work in future. We will publish a summary of the responses we receive to the survey on the consultation webpage in due course.
If you have views on this topic, we would be very grateful if you would take the time to respond. Thank you in advance!
PHE Screening blog
The PHE Screening blog provides up to date news from all NHS screening programmes. You can register to receive updates direct to your inbox, so there’s no need to keep checking for new blogs. If you have any questions about this blog article, or about population screening in England, please contact the PHE screening helpdesk.