NHS Cervical Screening Programme – digital first communications reminder
On behalf of Alison Cowie, Head of Cervical Screening Operations.
From 24 March, the NHS Cervical Screening Programme will start sending results requiring referral to colposcopy available through the NHS App. This change follows the introduction of digital invitations, reminders and some results in 2025 and comprehensive user research which has demonstrated strong support for receiving screening results digitally.
Digital-first communications first appear as an NHS App notification. For results requiring referral to colposcopy, if the NHS App message isn’t read within 24 hours, a letter will be sent as a failsafe. For all other communications, if the NHS App message isn’t read within 72 hours, a letter will be sent as a failsafe. Some participants may also receive an SMS notification. Further detail is available here.
Since June 2025, over 3 million invitations have been sent via NHS Notify, where 9 out of every 10 invitations have been delivered digitally, with the remainder being sent by post.
Important actions and notes for providers:
- Please can sample takers inform patients attending cervical screening that if they have the NHS App downloaded, their results will be delivered via the NHS App. If they don’t have NHS App, they will be sent a letter in the post.
- Posters, social media assets and FAQs to support adoption are available on Futures for your use. Further social media assets will be available soon.
- Continue to encourage patients to download the NHS App and enable notifications: www.nhs.uk/nhs-app/
For further information, please contact:england.digitalscreening@nhs.net“
On Behalf of the Cervical Screening Programme Commissioning Team, NHSE London.