Frequently asked questions
About Restoration of Trust
Our team came together because of recommendations that were made by Dr. Scally and Mr. Justice Meenan.
Dr. Gabriel Scally was appointed to carry out a scoping inquiry into the CervicalCheck Screening Programme in May 2018. As part of his review, he recommended that there "should be a process established enabling structured conversations with every woman effected who wishes to have her experience documented, or with appropriate surviving family members in cases where the patient has died, if they so wish."
This recommendation was also endorsed by Mr. Justice Meenan in his report and, as a result, it was included in the CervicalCheck Tribunal Act 2019 (the Act).
Our Facilitator Monica Brennan is responsible for the administration of Restoration of Trust.
She is responsible for receiving applications as well as recruiting and maintaining a panel of moderators to oversee any meetings.
Monica is independent in the performance of her functions.
Meetings like this were recommended because a need to talk about what happened was identified. This will not be the case for everyone, but for some people it can be very helpful to talk about their experiences. It is a space to think about what, if anything, you would like to say to someone about what happened to you.
If you would like to talk about your experiences, and if you are eligible, we would like to help you find a space that will work best for you.
A Moderator’s role is to be a neutral person who can help people to talk about their experiences and, if they would like, to have a constructive conversation.
Our Moderators Ber, Diane and Noreen, are very experienced professionals who can guide people through the process. They are completely independent. They are experts in work like this and can work with anyone who would like to discuss their options.
You can read more about our Moderators here.
About the Meetings
The Act says that an “appropriate person” can apply for a meeting. An “appropriate person” means “a relevant woman, or where the relevant woman has died, the dependant of a relevant woman." This means that those eligible to apply for a meeting are:
- women who were part of the Review of Cervical Screening and whose review findings were discordant.
- women whose slides were sought to be part of the Review of Cervical Screening process but whose slides could not be re-examined due to circumstances beyond the control of the woman concerned.
- women who were part of the retrospective CervicalCheck cytology clinical audit and whose cytology review findings were discordant with those of the original cytology or
- the dependents of a woman who has passed away but would have been eligible to apply under one of the above categories.
* Please note, as per the Civil Liability Act 1961, a dependant is defined as a spouse, co-habitant, civil partner (within the meaning of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010), parent, grandparent, step-parent, child, grandchild, step-child, brother, sister, half-brother or half-sister of the deceased.
If you are not eligible under these categories, and you developed cervical cancer after screening, you can contact the National Screening Service to talk about a personal cervical screening review.
We have no involvement in those reviews so cannot answer questions about it, but you can find more information here.
Applying for a meeting must be done in writing. You can download our application form and return it through the website, by email or by post.
You can find more details on our Request a Meeting page.
Yes. The Moderators will keep everything confidential.
You may wish for them to communicate some information to a particular person, and if that is the case, they will talk to you clearly about this. Nothing will ever be shared without your permission.
The Facilitator will also provide some rules to the Moderators that address confidentiality.
More information on confidentiality is available here.
There is no set format for a meeting as they are based on each individual. However, we have a guide process so that you can see how this might work. You can view this here.
Once a Moderator has been appointed, they will contact you and discuss what you would like to achieve from the meetings. This could be:
- Telling your story and talking about your experiences
- Documenting your experiences
- Sharing your experiences with other parties
- Requesting information from other parties
- Meeting with other parties to discuss your experiences
If there is something else you wish to achieve from the meetings you can discuss this with the Moderator.
We will be open and honest with you at all times. If there is something that we think we cannot achieve we will talk to you about this and discuss your options with you.
The Moderator will discuss what you wish to achieve from the meeting.
If you wish to ask another party to attend the meeting to share information then the Moderator will make contact with that person and ask if they agree to attend. This process is entirely voluntary for all parties.
If the person you want to meet does not consent to attend then the Moderator will inform you and discuss other options available to you such as:
- meeting with another party who has consented to attend and/or
- documenting your experiences.
This process is entirely voluntary and revolves around you. It is your choice to be there and whether or not to continue with the process.
If at any time you choose not to proceed you can contact your Moderator or our team.
Yes. You may be accompanied by a person or people of your choice for support purposes. Your Moderator will discuss this with you in advance.
If you make an application one of our Moderators will arrange a time to call you. Meetings can take place in a variety of locations and Ber, Diane or Noreen will discuss what suits you best.
They will travel to meet you at a location of your choice and the Facilitator will arrange to book a neutral venue where you will be able to speak privately.
No. The Act sets out protections that anything said in the meeting is legally protected and cannot be used in any court or professional proceedings.
The Moderator will discuss this with you in detail.
Further information on the protections can be found here.
This will vary from person to person and is based on individual needs.
Yes. You can discuss this with your Moderator and a follow-up meeting can be arranged.
Other Information
Yes. A meeting will not affect any claim that you have. No information from a meeting can be used in any court or professional proceedings.
Your moderator can talk to you about this in more detail if you have questions.
More information on the confidentiality of meetings can be found here.
No. You do not require a solicitor or any legal assistance but you can choose to have them there as a support person.
Your moderator will discuss this with you.
It should be noted that meetings are legally protected under the Act. Anything said during the meeting cannot be used in any court or professional proceedings. You can read more about that on our Confidentiality page here.
If you have any other questions that are not outlined above, please do not hesistate to contact us by emailing info@rtm.ie.
All queries will be dealt with in the strictest of confidence.
