Cancer Screening

There are three types of cancer screening for adults in England, and they save thousands of lives each year.

Cervical screening

Cervical screening (formerly known as a smear test) is a free NHS test to check the health of the cervix and help prevent cervical cancer. In England, Wales, and Scotland, people with a cervix aged 25 to 64 are invited every 5 years.

Most women's test results show that everything is normal, but for around 1 in 20 women the test will show some abnormal changes in the cells of the cervix.

Please refer to the NHS Cervical Screening (Smear Test) Patient Leaflet to help you make an informed decision about whether to take part in cervical screening for your own health.

For translations in other languages, please click here.

After reading the leaflet, if you decide to defer, cease, or reinstate your cervical screening appointment following a previous decision to cease, please complete the appropriate form below. Submit the completed form in writing either by email to: forum.health@nhs.net; or hand it in at our reception in person.

Please note that written confirmation is required in order for us to process your request to opt out of or rejoin our cervical screening recall system.

Forms

If you wish to just defer the service for a few months or years, please use the form: Cervical Screening Programme Deferral

If you wish to permantently withdraw from this service please use the form: Informed Consent for withdrawal from the Cervical Screening Programme  –  This form should be completed once you still wish to withdraw from the programme after reading the patient leaflet.

If you are a patient representitive or a carer looking after a patient with mental capacity concern, please use the form: Ceasing from the Cervical Screening Programme – Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 

If you are aged over 65 without recent abnormal test results, or have radiotherapy to the pelvic area which affects the cervix, or have no cervix, please use the form: Ceasing from the Cervical Screening Programme

If you would like to reinstate into this service following a previous decision to cease (you don’t need it following a previous to defer), please use the form: Reinstate into Cervical Screening Programme

If you would like to opt into the service as a transgender individual, please use the following form: Gender Opt-In Form

Bowel cancer screening

There are two types of screening for bowel cancer.

A home testing kit is offered to men and women aged 60 to 74.

Bowel scope screening uses a thin flexible tube with a tiny camera on the end to look at the large bowel. It is offered to men and women at the age of 55 in some parts of England.

See more about bowel cancer screening.