§ Mr. DunnachieTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what categories of women do not require cervical smears; and what method is proposed to ensure that they are not tested unnecessarily.
§ Mr. MellorOur guidance to health authorities states that
all women aged 20 to 64 should be invited for screening … unless their GP has indicated that they should be excluded". (Circular HC(88)1 paragraph 3.)A GP may decide to exclude from the screening programme those women who have had a total hysterectomy (which implies that the cervix has been removed along with the rest of the uterus) and those who have had their cervix amputated as part of a prolapse repair. Besides women who are dying of cervical cancer there are also those in terminal stages of other illnesses such as cancers elsewhere in their body or neurological disorders.