NHS chief says England will eliminate cervical cancer by 2040.

Every year, hundreds of women in England die of cervical cancer. But this could soon be a thing of the past, with NHS leader Amanda Pritchard promising to eradicate the disease by 2040. This would be a huge achievement for England, which is one of the first countries in the world to set a deadline for defeating cervical cancer.

So how will this be achieved? According to Pritchard, the answer lies in vaccines and cervical screening. By reducing the number of people who contract HPV - the virus that causes most cases of cervical cancer - and increasing the number of women who are screened, the NHS will be able to reduce the number of cases of the disease.

To get more people vaccinated, the NHS is now giving children aged 12-13 a single dose of the HPV vaccine. For boys, 81.5% had received a dose by Year 10 in 2021-2022. Meanwhile, 86.5% of girls in the same age group had received the vaccine. In addition, people at high risk of HPV are also given the jab.

The NHS is also sending more appointment reminders to drive up the number of women who attend cervical screening. Currently, a third of women don’t take up their offer. The NHS is also expanding self-sampling, which enables women to carry out cervical screening in their own homes.

Pritchard believes that eliminating cervical cancer would be an incredible achievement and has urged people to take up their vaccine and screening appointments. She said: “As ever, the public can play their part by coming forward for their vaccines and screening appointments when invited – to achieve our goal of eliminating cervical cancer, we need as many people as possible to take up the offer, so please don’t delay, it could save your life.”

Cervical cancer is a serious issue in England, but with the right measures in place, it is possible to reduce the number of cases and even eliminate it in the next two decades. By increasing vaccination and screening, the NHS can save thousands of women from the disease and make cervical cancer a thing of the past.

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