Women who don't come forward for cervical cancer screening to be offered home tests

Women who don't come forward for cervical cancer screening will be offered home-testing kits as part of the government's new 10-year health plan.

The Department of Health and Social Care has said the initiative aims to "revolutionise" cervical cancer prevention rates by helping overcome barriers that prevent some women from having potentially life-saving screenings. This can include a fear of discomfort, embarrassment, cultural sensitives and the struggle to find time for medical appointments.

Cervical screening, sometimes referred to as a smear test, is a test to check the health of the cervix and help prevent cervical cancer. The NHS offers it to women and people with a cervix aged 25 to 64 - with those aged between 25 to 49 invited for the checks every three years, and 50 to 64-year-olds every five years.

However, the government has said participation in cervical cancer screening currently sits at just 68.8% - well below the NHS England target of 80%. This means more than five million women in England are not up to date with their routine check-up.

Experts have now said sending home-testing kits to those who don't attend their check-ups could increase participation in the screening programme that saves approximately 5,000 lives a year across England. The self-sample kits will be offered to women who have rarely or never attended their cervical screening.

It will then be sent out in "discreet packaging" that can be returned via prepaid mail. The self-sample method tests only for the presence of the human papillomavirus (HPV), a group of viruses that can lead to cervical cancer.

Anyone testing positive for HPV through self-sampling will be encouraged to attend a clinician-taken follow-up cervical screening test to check for cervical cell changes. The initiative is part of the government's "10-year health plan.