Shetland will host the UK’s leading cervical cancer charity for Cervical Screening Awareness Week. Suzanne Kelly, Cervical Cancer Prevention Manager at Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, will be in Shetland from Tuesday 20 June to Thursday 22 June.
Suzanne’s visit will include delivering information and awareness sessions on cervical cancer to groups across the islands including the local Public Health team, the Compass Centre, Women’s Aid, as well as GPs, Practice Nurses and the admin teams that support them. The sessions will provide information on how to increase cervical screening uptake in Shetland, as well as raise awareness of cervical cancer, the symptoms to look out for, and the importance of taking up invitations for the HPV vaccine and cervical screening (smear test).
Suzanne will also host a public cervical cancer awareness session on Tuesday 20 June from 6pm – 7pm at Islesburgh Community Centre in Lerwick. All are welcome to attend.
Currently, Shetland has the highest screening coverage of NHS health boards in Scotland at 79.0%. However, still one in five to not take up their invitation to cervical screening and attendance has declined since the pandemic. Those eligible for cervical screening aged 25-29 are also less likely to attend, with one in three not taking up their invitation.1
Jo’s dedicated Scotland team work with communities, health boards and other organisations across the country to raise awareness of cervical cancer and the importance of cervical screening (smear tests). The charity’s #LetsTalkScreening campaign for Cervical Screening Awareness Week aims to highlight the importance of attending your cervical screening, and share experiences, support, and information about this life saving test.
Speaking about her visit to Shetland, Suzanne said: “I am delighted to visit Shetland during Cervical Screening Awareness Week and meet members of the community on my tour of the mainland. All of Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust’s work in Scotland leads us closer to our vision of future without cervical cancer. Scotland already has the tools to achieve this – the cervical screening and vaccination programmes – but we want to make sure that nobody is left behind. By working with communities in Shetland, we can give everyone the information and support they need to attend screening. Everyone is more than welcome to join me on Tuesday evening for an open session.”
Melanie Hawkins, Health Protection Practitioner from NHS Shetland said: “It’s great that Suzanne from Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust is able to visit Shetland during Cervical Screening Awareness Week. Suzanne will meet people from various teams across Shetland and help us to increase our knowledge about cervical cancer prevention including cervical screening and the HPV vaccine. This will allow us think about some of the issues faced by those who currently do not attend regularly and how we can support people to attend.”
NHS Shetland and Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust are asking people to take part in a survey. This is to help understand what it is like to access cervical screening (smear tests) in Shetland, and any barriers women and people with a cervix experience in attending. If you’d like to take part in this survey or to share it with anyone else that might like to complete it please use the following link Shetland Cervical Screening Questionnaire Survey (surveymonkey.co.uk)
Notes to editor
- About Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust
Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust is the UK’s leading cervical cancer charity, providing information and support to anyone affected, and campaigning for excellence in cervical cancer treatment, care, and prevention. Its national Helpline is free, confidential, and available on 0808 802 8000. www.jostrust.org.uk
- About Cervical Screening Awareness Week
Every year, Jo’s uses Cervical Screening Awareness Week to raise awareness of screening, offer tips and expert information to help women and other people with a cervix attend.
This Cervical Screening Awareness Week runs from 19-24 June this year. Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust will be sharing different experiences from women and other people with a cervix: screening after giving birth, after menopause, after transitioning, after receiving the first invitation, and after being refused it altogether. Jo’s will also be sharing information, tips and support on how to make attending your screening a little bit easier.
Everyone can join the conversation on social media with #LetsTalkScreening. Find our more about the campaign here.