Summary

This report presents information about the NHS Cervical Screening Programme in England in 2011-12 and includes data about the call and recall system, screening samples examined by pathology laboratories and referrals to colposcopy clinics.

Key facts

• At 31st March 2012, the percentage of eligible women (aged 25 to 64) who were recorded as screened at least once in the previous 5 years (coverage) was 78.6 per cent. Five year coverage has remained unchanged from 31st March 2011 when it was also 78.6 per cent. Coverage five years ago in 2007 was 79.2 per cent and ten years ago in 2002 was 81.6 per cent.
• ‘Time from screening to receipt of results' is defined as the interval between the date the sample was taken from the woman and the date she received her result letter and is measured using an expected delivery date. In 2011-12, 95.2 per cent of result letters sent by PCOs were reported to have an expected delivery date of within 2 weeks of the sample being taken, a considerable increase from 2010-11 when the percentage was 78.9 per cent.
• The number of women aged 25 to 64 invited for screening increased by 363,756 (8.4 per cent) in 2011-12, taking the total number of women invited in this age group to 4.7 million. A total of 3.6 million women aged 25-64 were tested in 2011-12, an increase of 6.3 per cent from 2010-11 when 3.4 million were tested.
• In 2011-12, 147,889 referrals to colposcopy were reported, an increase of 3.4 per cent from 2010-11 (142,984 referrals).