Health
NHS offers home HPV testing kits to women in England missing cervical screening
Nearly four million eligible women will receive invites over the next year in an effort to boost screening rates.
The short version
- The NHS is offering free HPV self-testing kits to roughly four million women in England who have missed recent cervical screening appointments.
- Eligible women aged 24 to 64 will receive invitations via the NHS App, text, email, or letter over the coming year.
- If high-risk HPV is detected from the returned vaginal swab, patients will be invited to a follow-up clinician-led screening appointment.
Key facts
- Nearly four million women in England who missed cervical screening will be invited to order free home HPV self-testing kits over the next year.[BBC News]
- Approximately one-third of women eligible for cervical cancer screening in England have not recently taken up the offer.[BBC News]
- London trials indicate self-testing options could increase screening uptake by roughly 400,000 women annually.[BBC News]
- The NHS maintains that clinician-led cervical screening appointments remain the most effective way to prevent cervical cancer.[BBC News]
- The NHS aims to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040 through a combination of HPV vaccinations and screening.[BBC News]
What remains uncertain
- It remains to be seen whether home testing will be adopted across other parts of the UK outside England.[BBC News]