Important update for all Cervical Screening Sample Takers

Dear Primary Care Colleagues and Sample Takers,

People living with well-controlled HIV who receive a negative hrHPV result at routine cervical screening will now be recalled every 5 years, in line with the national NHS cervical screening interval for people who are not living with HIV, rather than annually. This change reflects both the introduction of HPV primary screening and the success of antiretroviral therapy in achieving HIV viral suppression. 

People living with HIV who test hrHPV positive will continue to receive appropriate care through established NHS Cervical Screening Programme pathways, including cytology triage, surveillance, referral and post-treatment follow-up where required. 

A small cohort of individuals whose HIV is not well controlled, or who have poor adherence to HIV treatment, may continue to receive annual clinician-taken cervical screening at the request of their managing HIV clinician. These samples should be taken in a specialist HIV clinic and agreed with the laboratory in advance. This risk-stratified approach provides flexibility to support individual clinical need while operating outside the routine call and recall process. 

Please also see the attached sample taker update from the Cervical Screening Laboratory where changes are outlined.

Kind regards,

Adult and Cancer Screening Commissioning Team
NHS England London Region