A new national campaign is calling on those eligible not to ignore their screening invite, as latest figures[1] reveals around one in four in the East Midlands don’t take up the offer of cervical screening.

The survey released this week shows embarrassment was the most common reason for not booking a screening appointment (42%) in England and over half (60%) in the East Midlands said they were nervous when they did attend.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), with the support of the NHS, has launched the new Help Us Help You – Cervical Screening Saves Lives campaign this week, which urges those eligible aged between 25 and 64 not to ignore their cervical screening invite, and if they missed their last one, to book an appointment with their GP practice or sexual health clinic now.

Around 2,700 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer in England each year and approximately 690 women die from the disease – around two deaths every day.[2] Previous estimates suggest screening prevents 70% of cervical cancer deaths, but 83% of deaths could be prevented if everyone attended regularly.[3]

Dr Ash Banerjee, Screening and Immunisation Lead (Public Health Consultant) at NHS England and NHS Improvement – Midlands, said: “There is no doubt about it – cervical screening saves lives. By screening for risk signs at an early stage, it means that any abnormal cells can be treated quickly before they potentially develop into cancer.

“We know that it can feel embarrassing or feel like something that you can easily put off but accepting your invite and getting checked could save your life. Please do speak to your GP practice about any concerns you might have as they are there to help you.”

As part of the campaign, a new survey of 3,000 people eligible for screening commissioned by DHSC in England, reveals a number of concerns which prevent cervical screening. Embarrassment was the most common reason for never having attended or missing an appointment (stated by 42% of respondents), followed by those who “kept putting it off” (34%) and “being worried it would be painful” (28%). 15% of lesbian or bisexual women over 25 had never had a smear test, compared to 7% of women over 25 in general.[4]

To tackle these barriers and help drive uptake, a new film has been released featuring Loose Women panellist Linda Robson, TV personality Scarlett Moffatt, broadcaster Louise Minchin, Drag Queen Victoria Scone and female rights activist Sharon Gaffka, alongside GP and media medic, Dr Zoe Williams. Through life saving conversations, they tackle the barriers to attending cervical screening and encourage those eligible to book their appointment when invited.

The full findings from the new survey reveal[5]:

• When asked about what their experience was like at their most recent test, over half (60%) said they were nervous and almost two out of five (39%) said they were embarrassed
• The majority (84%) said the nurse or doctor put them at ease during a cervical screening
• Positively, over half of respondents (59%) were surprised about how quick the test was, and 91% would encourage others who are worried to go for a test
• Almost one in 10 don’t feel comfortable discussing a cervical screening with anyone, over half would talk to their friend (53%) or their partner (57%) and more than two out of five would talk to their mother (44%)
• The majority (90%) said they were glad they attended a cervical screening

In England, NHS cervical screening is offered to women and people with a cervix between the ages of 24.5 and 49 every three years. For those between the ages of 50 and 64, screening is offered every five years.

The campaign will emphasise that screening, which only takes a few minutes, can help stop cervical cancer before it starts, and is being supported by charities, including Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust. Cervical screening checks for high-risk types of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), a common virus that most people will get at some point. While for people with high-risk HPV the risk of getting cancer is low, any abnormal changes can be identified early.  Cell changes are easily treated, and this prevents cervical cancer. That is why attending screening appointments is so important.

For further information about cervical screening, please visit www.nhs.uk/cervicalscreening.

[1] Cervical Screening Programme England 2020- 2021 https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/cervical-screening-annual/england—2020-21

[2] Cancer Registration Statistics, England 2019. Available from:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/cancer-registration-statistics/england-2019#summary

Data obtained from NCRAS, PHE. On average 2687 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer (ICD-10 C53) each year from 2017 – 2019 and 689 women died from the disease. The latest annual data is for 2019

[3] Landy, R., Pesola F., et al., Impact of cervical screening on cervical cancer mortality: estimation using stage-specific results from a nested case–control study. British Journal of Cancer volume115, pages1140–1146 (25 October 2016). Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/bjc2016290?foxtrotcallback=true 

[4] Public Health England blog; Addressing inequalities in LGBT cancer screening coverage, 15 March 2019 https://phescreening.blog.gov.uk/2019/03/15/addressing-inequalities-in-lgbt-cancer-screening-coverage/

[5] Opinium conducted an online survey with a nationally representative sample of 3,003 women (and people with a cervix) aged 25-64. The online survey ran from 7th – 17th January 2022. Results available from: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/essvq7l1oluroujpxqljq/Cervical-Screening-Survey-Results-January-2022-for-publication-14.02.22.docx?dl=0&rlkey=tc52rcy0zu6c07glywx78rwnu

[6] 99.8% of cervical cancer cases in the UK are caused by HPV infection https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/statistics-by-cancer-type/cervical-cancer/risk-factors#ref-2