Thousands in Hillingdon missing cervical cancer screenings
Marking Cervical Screening Awareness Week, (20th-26th June), local London Assembly Member, Dr Onkar Sahota AM, is urging all eligible women to take up their invitations for a smear test and for all people with a cervix to check with their GP if they are eligible for one. Only 62% who were eligible in Hillingdon and aged between 25 and 49, took up a cervical cancer screening last winter (October-December 2021), the latest NHS figures show. For those aged between 50 and 64, living in the borough, the take-up rate was only 73%. NHS data shows that during the pandemic, screening coverage fell by 2% across the country.
A survey conducted last year by Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust highlighted some of the other factors behind hesitancy about attending screenings. Almost 9 in 10 of the survey’s respondents with a disability said that it is harder to have cervical screening and among survivors of sexual violence, only half said that they attend appointments.
The charity has called for faster action on rolling out easy and reliable at-home cervical screening, after 62% of respondents said that this would be their preference.
A report published by the British Journal of General Practice in May 2021, revealed that trans men and non-binary people with a cervix encounter a number of personal and systemic barriers to accessing cervical screening. People who have registered with their GP as male do not automatically receive a cervical screening invitation. Trans men have to proactively contact their GP to arrange one.
Local London Assembly Member, Dr Onkar Sahota AM, said: “Thousands of eligible women and people with a cervix in our borough are missing out on a potentially life-saving screening. “There are a number of complex factors behind this hesitancy that need to be urgently addressed by the NHS and the Government. One of the solutions could be expanding access to at-home screening and we need to push forward with the conversation around this. “As well as increasing public awareness about its importance, there is also unfortunately a stigma around cervical screening in our society that needs to be tackled head on. “Coming out of the pandemic, I would urge all eligible women to take up their screening invitation and for people with a cervix to contact their GP to arrange one”.
Marking Cervical Screening Awareness Week, (20th-26th June), local London Assembly Member, Dr Onkar Sahota AM, is urging all eligible women to take up their invitations for a smear test and for all people with a cervix to check with their GP if they are eligible for one. Only 62% who were eligible in Hillingdon and aged between 25 and 49, took up a cervical cancer screening last winter (October-December 2021), the latest NHS figures show. For those aged between 50 and 64, living in the borough, the take-up rate was only 73%. NHS data shows that during the pandemic, screening coverage fell by 2% across the country. A survey conducted last year by Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust highlighted some of the other factors behind hesitancy about attending screenings. Almost 9 in 10 of the survey’s respondents with a disability said that it is harder to have cervical screening and among survivors of sexual violence, only half said that they attend appointments. The charity has called for faster action on rolling out easy and reliable at-home cervical screening, after 62% of respondents said that this would be their preference. A report published by the British Journal of General Practice in May 2021, revealed that trans men and non-binary people with a cervix encounter a number of personal and systemic barriers to accessing cervical screening. People who have registered with their GP as male do not automatically receive a cervical screening invitation. Trans men have to proactively contact their GP to arrange one.
Local London Assembly Member, Dr Onkar Sahota AM, said: “Thousands of eligible women and people with a cervix in our borough are missing out on a potentially life-saving screening. “There are a number of complex factors behind this hesitancy that need to be urgently addressed by the NHS and the Government. One of the solutions could be expanding access to at-home screening and we need to push forward with the conversation around this. “As well as increasing public awareness about its importance, there is also unfortunately a stigma around cervical screening in our society that needs to be tackled head on. “Coming out of the pandemic, I would urge all eligible women to take up their screening invitation and for people with a cervix to contact their GP to arrange one”.
