This small pilot, funded by the Department of Health, aimed to evaluate the benefits of placing cervical screening adverts in GP surgeries in areas where screening uptake rates were low, and whether it was a useful mechanism for increasing uptake.

The advert reminded women that cervical cancer is largely preventable, that women should not ignore screening invitations and that Jo’s Cervical Trust is here to offer support.

The advert was placed in 100 surgeries over a six week period. When asked “since the campaign went live on your screens has your practice seen a rise in patients requesting Cervical Screening?” 43 of the 46 surgeries that responded (93%) said they noticed a difference in the numbers of women asking to be screened during the period of the project, with 23% noticing an increase of 10-25% and 69% noticing an increase of 0-10%.

Robert Music, director or Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust said “We believe the results of this pilot highlight very real benefits to screening uptake through placing screening adverts in waiting rooms.  We are now looking to test the potential of this project on a larger scale by running a further pilot in up to 300 surgeries over a six month period. We believe this would provide the opportunity for more in-depth evaluation as to the long term benefits of placing cervical screening adverts in GP waiting rooms, but so far it looks very promising.”

Care Services Minister Paul Burstow said: "Cervical screening saves 4,500 lives a year in England. The more women who take up their offer of screening, the more lives saved. That is why I welcome these adverts in GP practices, especially in practices where uptake of cervical screening needs to rise.  It is important that women are given information to help them decide to take up their offer of screening, and I look forward to seeing this project extended more widely.
 
"Cervical screening is aimed at women without symptoms. It is not a test for cancer. It can help prevent cancer by detecting and treating early abnormalities which, if left untreated, could lead to cancer in a woman's cervix. Women with symptoms should see their doctor as soon as possible rather than having a screening test."