Cervical Screening Update-26th of June 2025- Vaccination and Screening Leadership Bulletin.
1. The new ‘Your guide to NHS cervical screening’ information leaflet- see attached
On behalf of Beth Davies, Insight and Information Manager (Publications and Invitations).
The publications team has collaborated with key stakeholders to improve the readability and accessibility of the main cervical screening invitation leaflet, previously titled ‘Cervical screening: helping you decide’.
This review included extensive stakeholder feedback, including charity input from Cancer Research UK and The Eve Appeal, alongside direct patient testing via the University of Surrey.
From 1 July, a physical copy of the new leaflet – now called ‘Your guide to NHS cervical screening’ – will be enclosed within invitation letters. It will also be published online on GOV.UK, with signposting included in digital invitations. A PDF copy of the new leaflet is attached.
30 new translations will be available on GOV.UK (replacing the current 11 languages) and a British Sign Language (BSL) video will be published in due course.
The new leaflet reflects the extended cervical screening intervals, which will apply from 1 July. From this date, screening services are asked to stop using any remaining stock of the ‘Helping you decide’ and please transition immediately to the new ‘Your guide to NHS cervical screening’ leaflet.
2. NHS to roll out HPV self-testing for under-screened – FOR INFORMATION
On behalf of Alessandra Edge-McKenna, Lead Senior Communications & Engagement Manager.
This week the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) recommended that women and people with a cervix who never or rarely attend their routine cervical screening appointments can be offered a HPV self-sampling test option. The NHS Cervical Screening Programme will now accelerate its plans to roll out this option from early 2026.
A Q&A for cervical screening staff can be found here.
3. Cervical screening non-responder reports
On behalf of Alessandra Edge-McKenna, Lead Senior Communications & Engagement Manager.
GP practices can now use the Cervical Screening Management System (CSMS) to identify ‘non-responders’eligible for cervical screening and contact them about attending for screening.
The ‘non-responders’ report shows those who:
- Have not responded to their most recent cervical screening invitation and are now more than 6 months overdue.
- Have been ceased due to age but were non-responders at the time of ceasing and are still under 65 years old and so remain eligible for their last screening test.
Details on the report and how it is run can be found in the CSMS user guide. For support with CSMS please go to CSMS help.