How Ireland’s National Screening Service achieved 50% SMS response rates

When HSE National Screening Service set out to test digital patient feedback within BowelScreen, the ambition was not simply to replace paper surveys. The team wanted a faster, more effective way to understand patient experience, identify where services could improve, and support stronger participation in screening. With support from Cemplicity, HSE introduced a real-time digital feedback approach that made it easier to capture and act on patient insight.

In just five months, that approach delivered exceptional results: a near 50% SMS survey completion rate after colonoscopy and 34% completion for at-home FIT screening tests, far exceeding historic paper-based response rates of 10% or less. Just as importantly, the programme proved that, with the right communication, frontline engagement, and reporting model, real-time patient feedback can become a scalable asset for service improvement across national screening programmes.

“Our proof of concept with Cemplicity demonstrates how people’s feedback can be used in a systematic and continuous approach. We are confident that we will identify areas for improvement from the patient perspective as a result.”

– Dr Alan Smith, Specialist in Public Health Medicine at HSE National Screening Service