Cervical screening recalls drop to all-time low

GPs are having to repeat fewer cervical smears than ever before, the latest NHS figures show.

Just 100,000 women had to have a repeat test in 2007/08 – 2.9% of all women who had smears tests – figures from the NHS Information Centre show.

Before the introduction of liquid-based cytology, around 300,000, or 9% of women had to be invited back because of inadequate samples.

In the past year, the number of women invited to take part in the screening programme rose by 4.3% to reach 4.18 million – the largest number of invitations since the target age range of over 25 was introduced .

The number of women screened has remained steady in the past year but over the past five years, the proportion of eligible women screened at least once fell to 78.6% at 31 March 2008, compared to 79.2% in 2007 and 82.5% in 1998.

Dr Sarah Jarvis, a GP in Hammersmith, London, and RCGP spokesperson on women's health said she had expected to see repeat smears falling but was delighted with the figures.

‘One of the biggest problems we have is getting women to take responsibility for their health and if a woman has one experience of having to come back she's much more likely to default the next time. It means GPs can focus more attention on the non-attenders.'

Tim Straughan, chief executive of the NHS Information Centre, said: ‘Thousands fewer women have to have a repeat screening and suffer the anxiety this entails compared to previous years, while the swiftness of test results is also improving.'

But Dr Anne Szarewski, clinical consultant for Cancer Research UK, said falling rates of cervical screening were ‘worrying'.

‘We're not sure exactly why there's been a drop in the numbers of women attending screening but these figures highlight just how important it is that all women - including those who will receive the HPV vaccine - are aware of cervical screening and attend when they receive their invitations.'