§ 38. Mr. ColvinTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will review the advice issued by his Department on the regularity of cervical smear tests.
§ Mr. FreemanWe have recommended to health authorities a maximum interval of five years between tests, which we know can reduce deaths among women screened by a substantial proportion. However, we also know that the majority of women who die from cervical cancer have never had a smear test. We therefore believe that it is more important to achieve as a first priority a high response rate from all women in the eligible age group rather than aim to reduce the interval between screening. If a health authority decides it can offer more frequent screening—and we know that some have adopted a three-yearly programme—we would expect it also to be achieving a high response rate and to be able to cope with the much higher number of tests three-yearly screening creates. Of course, if any woman patient presents with gynaecological symptoms or has any reason to believe something is wrong, she can be referred for further investigation outside the screening programme. The recommended recall interval is kept under review.