Nearly one in three women and other people with a cervix in the UK don’t attend their cervical screening when invited. Yet this quick, routine test helps prevent up to 70% of cervical cancer deaths by detecting problems early — and if everyone took part, that figure could rise to over 80%.
Since December 2019, England has adopted a more accurate screening method that tests first for high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus responsible for nearly all cervical cancers, rather than looking immediately for abnormal cervical cells. Recommended by the UK National Screening Committee, this approach allows for longer intervals between tests for those who receive a negative HPV result, typically every five years instead of every three.
