The grim prospect of surge in untreated cervical cancer cases is the latest bad news to be prompted by the disruption to healthcare systems caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Women across the country are delaying getting smear tests because of concerns about going to the doctor during the pandemic.
Women from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds appear to be particularly reluctant to attend smear tests, with 43% saying they definitely would not attend, or were less likely to go.
Jo’s Cervical Cancer Charity polled a range of woman from all backgrounds and found that many are not attending tests – and warned that the impact on many individuals could be catastrophic for them.
The charity is calling for faster action on at-home testing to make sure more women get checked.
Rebecca Shoosmith from Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust said that the pandemic has shown that the NHS is “able to innovate quickly and we want to see that extended to cervical screening”.
She said: “More and more people find the current test challenging and coronavirus has accelerated this trend adding more barriers. Sadly those who found it difficult before are likely to be no closer to getting tested. Self-sampling would be a game-changer.”
Studies have shown that a third of women would prefer to take a self sample, rising to nearly two-thirds if it was easy and reliable.