Cervical screening uptake in Scotland drops 10% in a year

Women in Scotland are being encouraged to attend their cervical cancer screenings after new data has revealed a decrease in appointments attended.

Statistics released by Public Health Scotland (PHS) this month has revealed a 10% decline in uptake, which is the percentage of those invited for screening who have had a cervical screening encounter within six months (183 days) of their invitation or reminder letter.

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Cervical screening uptake was 41.9% in 2024/25, a decrease of 10 percentage points from 51.9% in 2023/24.

PHS said that uptake decreased across all age groups between 2023/24 and 2024/25 attributed it to the move to the five-year recall interval following the introduction of HPV as the primary test.

Statistics also revealed the cervical cancer screening programme achieved 55.3% coverage in the financial year 2024/25, compared with 63.3% the previous year. Coverage is the percentage of the target population eligible for screening at a given point in time who have had a cervical screening encounter within the past 3.5 or 5.5 years, depending on their age group.

This is a decrease of 8% from the previous year and 24.7% lower than the target performance threshold of 80%.

Now, PHS is encouraging women to take up the offer for cervical screening which is a test to check the neck of the womb for HPV.

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Dr Tasmin Sommerfield, interim director of screening at NHS National Services Scotland, said they are working with public health and primary care colleagues across Scotland to ‘identify the most effective ways’ to support individuals to participate in cervical screening.

She said: ‘This includes approaches tailored to the needs of those from under‑served communities, where barriers can be greatest. Our aim is to ensure that no-one misses out on the opportunity to benefit from this vital test.’

Professor David Morrison, consultant in public health at PHS, added: ‘Cervical screening offers the chance to pick up early cell changes and stop cancer ever occurring.

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‘Even if cancer is found, it’s more likely to be at an early, curable stage than after it starts to cause symptoms.  I encourage anyone who’s offered cervical screening to take up that offer.