Cervical Cancer: Screening
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure people with learning disabilities receive screenings for cervical cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
The Government is committed to its ambition to change the National Health Service so that it diagnoses earlier and treats faster. The NHS Cervical Screening Programme plays a vital role in this. Across the NHS, local systems and partnerships are working together to find ways to make cervical screening more accessible for people with a learning disability.
Following the launch of the Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag Information Standard, NHS England is considering the role this digital flag has in further personalisation in the programme.
Reasonable adjustments can include:
- a longer or double appointment;
- information in other languages or formats, or an interpreter;
- a chaperone in the room; and/or
- an appointment with a trusted doctor or nurse who the individual already has a good relationship with.
Additionally, in early 2026, the NHS Cervical Screening Programme will be offering a self-testing kit to under-screened women, starting with those who are the most overdue for screening. This will help tackle deeply entrenched barriers that keep some away from screening.
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