Cervical Screening

Cervical screening, which used to be called a smear test, is a test to check the health of the cervix and help prevent cervical cancer.

Who is offered cervical screening

All women aged 25 to 64 are invited for cervical screening every 5 years.

Everyone with a cervix should be offered screening, so if you're transgender or non-binary and have a cervix, how you're invited depends on the sex you're registered with at your GP surgery.

Early detection and treatment can prevent 75% of cancers developing.

What is cervical screening

Cervical screening is not a test for cancer, it's a test to help prevent cancer. It checks a sample of cells from your cervix for high risk types of human papillomavirus (HPV). High risk HPV can cause abnormal changes to the cells in your cervix.

If high risk types of HPV are found during screening, the sample of cells is also checked for abnormal cell changes. If abnormal cells are found, they can be treated to help prevent cervical cancer.

For more information, please visit www.nhs.uk