New NHS cervical self-test screening for millions of women in UK

Women in England could soon be offered a DIY cervical screening test on the NHS, according to new guidelines.

Research suggests that at-home tests could prompt an additional 400,000 women annually to undergo screening, with hopes that this initiative could increase participation rates. Nearly a third of women in England, particularly those who are younger, from minority ethnic backgrounds and deprived areas have not attended their most recent test. The largest UK trial of self-sampling to date was conducted by academics at King’s College London.

The study, which was published in the journal eClinicalMedicine, involved 27,000 women who were at least six months overdue for their cervical screening. It found that DIY kits, particularly those handed out directly by GP surgeries, could significantly boost the uptake of screenings, reports Birmingham Live.

Dr Anita Lim, the lead author of the study and a senior research fellow at King’s College London, said: “Self-sampling has been hailed as a gamechanger for cervical screening and we now have evidence in a UK population to show that it really is. It’s really encouraging that we received self-samples from groups that have been historically underserved including people from deprived and ethnic minority backgrounds, LGBTQI+, people with learning disabilities and victims of sexual violence.”