Cervical Cancer Prevention Week: Sefton Urged to Take Up Life-Saving Screenings

Here at Sefton Bubble, we’re backing this week’s Cervical Cancer Prevention Week and helping spread an important message across the borough: cervical screening saves lives.

Sefton Council is supporting the national awareness week, which encourages women and people with a cervix aged 25 to 64 to attend their cervical screening appointment when invited by the NHS.

This comes as NHS England works towards its ambition to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040, in line with a global initiative led by the World Health Organisation.

Received a reminder letter?

If you’ve had a reminder letter for a cervical screening (also known as a smear test), you can still book your appointment by contacting your GP surgery.

Out-of-hours appointments may be available through your GP’s Extra Service, and you can also contact Sefton Sexual Health directly on 01695 656550 to request a cervical screening appointment.

Living Well Bus: No Appointment Needed

To make access even easier, the Living We’ll Bus will be offering cervical screenings during four special visits across Sefton. No appointment is needed.

All sessions run from 10.30am to 4pm

• Friday 23 January – Asda Bootle, 81 Strand Road, #Bootle L20 4BB

• Thursday 12 February – Chapel Street, #Southport town centre

• Saturday 7 March – Asda #Aintree, Ormskirk Road, L10 3LN

• Friday 27 March – Waitrose Formby, Three Tuns Lane, #Formby L37 4AJ

Why screening matters

Cervical screening helps detect Human Papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause changes to cervical cells that may develop into cancer over time if left untreated.

Around 5,000 lives are saved every year in the UK through cervical screening. In Sefton, uptake is currently around 70% for ages 25–49 and just over 71% for ages 50–64 close to the national average, but still below the NHS target of 80%.

Screening usually takes around 10 minutes, and you can request a female doctor or nurse if that makes you feel more comfortable. Importantly, even if you’ve had the HPV vaccination, screening is still essential.

It’s never too late

If you were invited weeks, months or even years ago and didn’t attend, it’s not too late to book. Taking that appointment could quite literally save your life.

At Sefton Bubble, we know how busy life can be, but this is one thing worth prioritising. If you receive an invitation, please don’t put it off.

You can find more information about cervical screening on the NHS website.

💙 Your health matters. Take the test. Encourage a friend. Save a life.