Cervical screening

What is cervical screening, who is responsible for delivery and who is eligible

Cervical screening (formerly known as the smear test) is offered to those with a cervix aged 25-64 and checks for certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV) that could develop into cancer, if left untreated.

Invitations are managed by the national NHS Cervical Screening Administration Service (CSAS) Eligible patients will receive a letter in the post inviting them to make an appointment with their GP practice. Most cervical screening is done in a GP surgery by a female nurse or doctor.

If anyone aged 25-64 realises they have missed their cervical screening, they do not need to wait for a letter to make an appointment. General practices should check on the Cervical Screening Management System that the individual is due for screening and book in for a screening appointment as appropriate.

If a patient aged 65 or older comes forward and has never had a cervical screening test or has not had one since the age of 50, they should be booked in for a cervical screening appointment.

Cervical screening results on the NHS App   

From September 2025, the NHS Cervical Screening Programme will start sending results digitally via the NHS App. Patients with negative results will receive an app message and notification.

If the message is unread within 72 hours, a letter will be sent to the patient. Abnormal results will continue to be delivered by post.

Actions for cervical screening providers: 

• From immediate effect, sample takers should inform patients attending cervical screening that from September their results may be delivered via the NHS App.   
• Encourage patients to download the NHS app and enable notifications.