West Midlands Cervical Screening Programme
Cervical Screening Modernisation Programme

Cancer Reform Strategy

The Cancer Reform Strategy was published in December 2007 and the following areas relating to the cervical screening programme were covered:

Implementation of the 14 day turnaround time (TAT) quality standard

From December 2010 a new national standard will be implemented in which all women should receive their cervical sample screening result within 14 days of their test being taken. PCTs throughout the West Midlands have been working to improve their cervical screening programmes in order to deliver the 14 day TAT standard.

Improved cervical screening coverage

The Cancer Reform Strategy recommended that all PCTs tackle the issue of falling cervical screening coverage, particularly in the 25-29 year age group. The West Midlands region continues to address these problems following the launch of its three year awareness campaign in April 2008. Click here to view details of the West Midlands regional cervical screening awareness campaign.

Implementation of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination programme

The national HPV vaccination programme commenced in Autumn 2008 for 12-13 year old girls with a catch up programme for 14-18 year olds.

Cervical Screening Modernisation Policy

The Department of Health published its policy on the modernisation of cervical screening in October 2003 following an appraisal by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NIHCE). This policy included:

Implementation of liquid-based cytology (LBC) as the preparation method for cervical samples

Following the recommendation for the national implementation of LBC, the regional conversion to LBC began in 2004 and was completed in the summer of 2007; well ahead of the October 2008 deadline.

Implementation of the age change and recall standardisation policy

The change of age at first invitation from 20 to 25 and the standardisation of the recall interval to 3 years for women aged 25 to 49 and to 5 years for women aged 50 to 64 was implemented throughout the West Midlands on 1 October 2004. The regional cervical screening modernisation strategy implementation group produced supporting literature to facilitate the changes. Click here to download examples of the documentation produced.