Cervical Screening Programme, England - 2013-2014

Please note: the age range in the first part of the second bullet point under the key facts section was changed on 11/08/2015 to show the right age range of 25-29 years.  We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

• At 31 March 2014, the percentage of eligible women (aged 25 to 64) who were recorded as screened adequately at least once in the previous five years (five year coverage) was 77.8 per cent. This compares with 78.3 per cent at 31 March 2013 and 80.6 per cent ten years ago in 2004.
• Although coverage amongst women aged 25 to 29 years (measured at three and a half years to reflect the three year recall interval) increased to 63.3 per cent at 31 March 2014 from 62.0 per cent in 2013, it was still considerably lower than in any other age group. Coverage amongst women aged 50 to 54 (which is measured over a five year period) was highest at 81.6 per cent.
• A total of 4.24 million women aged 25 to 64 were invited for screening in 2013-14 and 3.23 million women were tested (a fall of 2.9 per cent from 2012-13 when 3.32 million were tested).
• 3.41 million samples were examined by pathology laboratories in 2013-14. This compares with 3.57 million in 2012-13. Of the samples examined in 2013-14, 3.22 million (94.6 per cent) were submitted by GPs and NHS Community Clinics.
• A total of 199,322 referrals to colposcopy were reported in 2013-14, an increase of 19.1 per cent from 2012-13 (167,394 referrals). The large increase in referrals is likely to be partly due to the roll-out of HPV testing.