Information is not available on the number of women who have taken up an invitation for cervical screening (uptake). However, information is available on coverage. Coverage is the percentage of women in a population who were eligible for screening at a particular point in time and who were screened adequately within a specified period.

As the frequency with which women are invited for screening is dependent on age, coverage is calculated differently for different age groups. For those aged 25 to 49 (who are invited for routine screening every three years), coverage is calculated as the number of women in this age group who have had an adequate screening test within the last 3.5 years, as a percentage of the eligible population aged 25 to 49. For those aged 50 to 64 (who are invited for routine screening every five years) and for the total target age group (aged 25 to 64), coverage is calculated as the number of women who have had an adequate screening test within the last five years, as a percentage of the eligible population.

The following table shows coverage for women aged 25 to 64 by age group, as at 31 March 2012 and 2013.

The figures from the table above are available in table 1 (Statistics on cervical cancer and the NHS Cervical Screening Programme) of the report “Cervical Screening Programme, England 2012-13”. The full report is available on the Health and Social Care Information Centre website at:

www.hscic.gov.uk/searchcatalogue?productid=12601&q=title%3a+ cervical+screening+programme&sort=Relevance&size= 10&page=1#top

There is a lack of published evidence regarding the effectiveness of interventions designed to increase cervical screening attendance among women aged under 35. The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme has commissioned a £1 million study to determine which interventions are effective at increasing screening uptake among women who are receiving their first invitation from the NHS Cervical Screening Programme at around age 25. The “Strategies to increase cervical screening uptake at first invitation” (STRATEGIC), study is trialling interventions such as: a pre-invitation leaflet; internet appointment booking; timed appointments; the provision of personal support through nurse navigators; and human papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling. The study began in November 2011 and is due to run until October 2015.

Reducing late diagnosis of HIV is an indicator in the public health outcomes framework. Increasing access to HIV testing is crucial to make progress on this indicator. Public Health England closely monitors HIV testing rates in genito-urinary Medicine (GUM) and antenatal services (as part of the antenatal screening programme), where the majority of HIV tests in England are performed.

The estimated uptake of HIV testing in 2012 in GUM was 81% and 98% in antenatal services. Number of individuals tested and estimated uptake from 2010 to 2012 are provided in the following table.

The first national HIV testing week ran in 2012 in England. Over 50 organisations delivered support, events or testing sessions, 3,500 posters promoting the benefits of testing were distributed and over 110 news items appeared in the media.

National HIV testing week 2013 will take place from 22 to 29 November 2013 and is running as part of a pan-European initiative. In England, this is led by the Terrence Higgins Trust as part of the HIV Prevention England programme that the Department funds. It has the aim to raise awareness about the importance of increasing HIV testing and increase the proportion of people who are aware of their HIV status and reduce late HIV diagnosis.

In 2013, National HIV testing week campaign activity will centre on the ongoing “It Starts With Me” campaign, which launched last year. A range of local delivery partners across the country have signed up to support the campaign.

HIV screening should be offered at a woman’s first antenatal visit. Some women choose to decline this offer of screening. The programme therefore re-offers antenatal screening at 28 weeks gestation, emphasising the benefits of early detection and treatment for both the mother and unborn baby, which will help to increase levels of uptake.