Medics issue warning as number of smear tests falls to new low
MORE than 98,000 women in Birmingham and Solihull have ignored invitations for smear tests in the past year, figures show.
And across the country attendance for cervical screening is the lowest for two decades.
Health bosses have now issued a reminder of the importance of attending regular smear tests for cervical cancer.
NHS Birmingham and Solihull Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) is supporting the #Smear- ForSmear 2018 campaign, which runs until Sunday during Cervical Cancer Prevention Week.
Nine women are diagnosed with cervical cancer in the UK every day, and two women will lose their lives to the disease.
Thanks to cervical screening and the HPV vaccination programme, cervical cancer is now largely preventable – although uptake of cervical screening is now going down every year. Latest figures show that screening coverage has dropped in Birmingham and Solihull to 68 per cent in the last year with more than 98,000 women not taking up their screening invitation in the last year.
Coverage in women aged 25-49 has dropped to 65 per cent and women aged 50-64 has dropped to 75 per cent. The national target is 80 per cent. Since the introduction of cervical screening in the 1980s, the number of cervical cancer cases has decreased by about seven per cent each year across England. For younger women, HPV vaccinations can help prevent seven out of ten cervical cancers, and these are routinely given to girls across the country aged 12 and 13.
This is a vaccination against the persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) infection that causes changes to the cervical cells and is responsible for nearly all cervical cancers.
Dr Richard Mendelsohn, a local GP and Chief Medical Officer for NHS Birmingham and Solihull CCGs, said: “Cervical cancer is the most common cancer in women under 35 and it is concerning to see the screening coverage go down year on year.
“We are urging all women aged 25-64 not to miss out on a vital smear test as it could save their life.
“Screening actually prevents cancer by detecting early abnormalities in the cervix, so they can be treated.
“During the early stages, cervical cancer will not often have any symptoms and the best way for it to be detected is through a screening.”