HPV testing at home launch

Health leaders in the Black Country are encouraging women who have missed a cervical screening appointment to take advantage of new HPV self-testing kits being introduced in England.

Figures show that around a third of eligible women have not taken up the offer of cervical screening in recent years.

Over the next year, nearly four million women who have missed their screening appointments will receive an invitation via the NHS App, text message, email or letter to order a free kit for use at home.

The self-testing kits are designed to raise uptake and get more women checked for high-risk HPV virus, which causes nearly all cases of cervical cancer.

The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust will then process any sample from the West Midlands.

Karen Kendall, Cytology Service Manager at the Trust, said: “We are extremely proud that our Cytology Service will be supporting this important new initiative by processing and reporting HPV self-sampling tests for people across the West Midlands.

“This will help make cervical screening more accessible and ultimately support the prevention of cervical cancer.

“This is the pathway for people who are invited by the national NHS Cervical Screening programme to order an HPV self-test kit. It is not possible to opt into this pathway. People invited will have been sent invitations for screening but have not attended. The self-test pathway does not apply to people who routinely attend for screening.

“The self-sampling kits are designed to increase participation in screening by making it easier for women to check for high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus responsible for almost all cases of cervical cancer.”

Cervical cancer often does not cause symptoms until it has reached a more advanced stage, when treatment can be more difficult.

The kits contain a swab, similar to a long cotton bud, which is used to collect a sample from the vagina. The sample is then sent to an NHS laboratory for testing.

If high-risk HPV is detected, the individual will be invited to attend a follow-up cervical screening appointment.

Women or anyone with a cervix aged 24 to 64 are invited for cervical screening every five years – or more frequently if HPV is detected.