Improving attendance for cervical screening among 25-29-year-olds poses a significant challenge for GP surgeries. To assess performance in this area, surgeries are encouraged to compare their current screening coverage with the national target rate of 80%, using the primary care dashboard available within the Cervical Screening Programme Coverage Statistics. The dashboard supports primary care by providing timely interactive coverage data that is updated on a quarterly basis. If the current screening coverage is below the national standard, you and your team may wish to consider ideas in this section to help increase uptake.

In this section, we explore practical steps and strategies that surgeries can implement to bridge the gap between current screening rates and the national targets, ultimately contributing to the overall improvement of cervical screening attendance and helping to prevent cervical cancer.

The ideas presented here have been successfully implemented at various surgeries and/or studied, demonstrating notable improvements in screening uptake. These evidence-based approaches can be considered for implementation to help increase cervical health within communities.

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