NECS has signed up to the cancer charity Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust’s Time to Test campaign which aims to support employees in attending cervical screening tests.
The campaign is part of the national Cervical Cancer Prevention Week (23-29 January 2023) and asks employers to sign up to Time to Test and support employees in attending these vital health appointments if they can’t get a test outside of working hours, empowering their team to look after their cervical health.
Paul Roberts, head of service for NECS’ Cervical Screening Administration Service, said: “Cervical screenings (smear tests) save lives but almost 1 in 3 don’t attend their appointments when invited. The test isn’t always easy at the best of times, but research shows that getting and attending an appointment can be an additional challenge for those who work, so NECS has signed up to the Time to Test campaign to encourage our staff to book and attend their appointment.”
Signing up to Time to Test can benefit an organisation by:
- demonstrating to the team that their health is important
- showing the organisation’s commitment to cervical cancer awareness
- playing a part in preventing cervical cancer
- promoting a culture that empowers, values, and supports employees in looking after their health
- helping reduce the stigma around cancer and dispelling myths about the disease.
Cervical screening can help detect cell changes at the earliest stage and stop cervical cancer from ever developing. Giving employees the time to attend cervical screening can help make this happen.
Find out how your organisation can get involved with Time to Test, and see which other NHS organisations and private sector companies have already shown their commitment.
The National Cervical Screening Programme aims to reduce the number of women diagnosed with cervical cancer. It does this by detecting abnormal cell changes in the cervix that, if left untreated, could develop into cancer in the future. Women aged 25-64 years are eligible for inclusion in the National Cervical Screening Programme.
NECS is responsible for the Cervical Screening Administration Service and supports the National Cervical Screening Programme by:
- providing Prior Notification Lists (PNLs) of patients eligible for screening to GP practices
- sending out call and recall letters to patients eligible for cervical screening tests
- notifying patients of test results once we receive these from laboratories.