Cervical cancer screening rates in Humber and North Yorkshire are now among the highest in the country.
More than 72% of women aged 25 to 49 and almost 77% of women aged 50 to 64 attended cervical screening appointments last year, higher than anywhere else in Yorkshire and higher than the national average of 67.5% and 74.9%.
The Colposcopy Team at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital have been credited with the increase in attendance rates thanks to their #smearnotfear campaign to encourage women to keep smear test appointments.
The #smearnotfear campaign was launched by Nurse Colposcopist Sarah Bolton and her team in 2017. Since then, the team holds events in their own time to raise awareness including lighting up the hospital in teal, the colour associated with cervical cancer awareness, and attended major events including Hull Pride, Hull Freedom Festival, rugby matches and sporting events.
They’ve set up their own social media pages, released videos on TikTok including one video which attracted 4,500 views in two hours and supported targeted messaging to encourage Polish and Romanian women now living in Hull to have smear tests.
Sarah Bolton said: “Before we started #smearnotfear, our cervical screening rates were one of the lowest in the country despite the area having some of the highest rates of cervical cancer.
“We knew we had to do something to get the message out about the importance of coming for smear tests.
“We visit schools, colleges and health centres when we’ve got days off work to spread the word and it seems to be working. We love our jobs and our women and we’re so glad it’s making a difference.”
