Derby MP joins NHS colleagues to encourage women to attend cervical screening appointments
MP for Derby North Amanda Solloway joined NHS colleagues across Derbyshire on a call to discuss what can be done to encourage women to attend routine cervical screening appointments.
Mrs Solloway joined Alison Cropper, UHDB’s Cervical Screening Programme Lead and Consultant Biomedical Scientist, as well as members of Derby and Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and NHS E/I, to discuss how the pandemic has affected services in the region.
Alison said that it appears women are attending their appointments at present, but there was a significant drop in numbers during the first lockdown in 2020.
She said: “Last year, the screening programme wasn’t paused at all, but our workload in the lab plummeted which was really worrying. However, we’re now seeing what we would consider a normal level of samples being sent to us and even more than that some weeks.
“It’s really encouraging to see that this latest lockdown hasn’t stopped our work at all.”
Stephanie Cook, Head of Public Health Commissioning for the East Midlands region at NHS E/I said:
“In March 2020, we did see a big drop in the number of women attending primary care for cervical screening, but we have worked hard to ensure invitations and reminder letters have been sent out to women, and lab numbers are now well above what was expected which is a good result.”
Cervical cancer develops in a woman’s cervix and typically affects sexually active women between the ages of 25 and 65, with a peak between the ages of 30 – 35. Cervical cancer is the most common cancer in women under the age of 35. Cervical screening can detect early changes which can be treated before cancer develops, so it is vital that women continue to attend their screening appointments (often referred to as smear tests) during the pandemic.
Christine Urqhart, Head of Cancer Commissioning and Derbyshire STP Cancer Programme Lead, emphasised the importance of women in the age range attending their appointments:
“Women aged between 25 and 50 tend to be the biggest group who do not reply to their invitation for screening, which is typically the peak age for women developing cervical cancer. This is why it’s so important they attend their appointments and know that the process is unchanged during the pandemic.”
Alison Cropper added: “It’s business as usual for cervical screening in GP surgeries, so I would urge all women who are booked in for a screening appointment to attend, or those who are worried about any signs or symptoms of cervical cancer to contact their GP.”
It is for this reason that Mrs Solloway has urged women to continue to attend their appointments:
“Catching cancer in the early stages is absolutely crucial for survival, that’s why it is absolutely key that people go for these tests and put their own health first. It was a pleasure to meet with Alison and the team and I was pleased to hear that the number of individuals going for their cancer screening is back to the usual level since March last year.
“We must do all we can to ensure that even more people respond to their screening invitations, particularly those who are at greater risk and I applaud the work of the UHBD Cervical Cancer Screening Programme for all that they do.”
Anyone who is worried about cervical cancer symptoms should speak to their GP at the earliest possible opportunity.