Women's Health: Cervical Screening Report

The Healthwatch Redbridge (HWR) Women’s Health Project was established in 2024, to engage with and hear from all women about their experience and understanding of women’s health provision in Redbridge and use these insights to influence and affect change. 

The research project has been designed in 3 phases over 2024 – 2025:

• Phase 1: Cervical Screening  
• Phase 2: Breast Screening
• Phase 3: Perimenopause and Menopause 

Background

In 2024, Healthwatch England asked us to interview women in Redbridge about their experiences as part of an investigation into declining cervical screening rates. 

We spoke to local women about their hesitancy to attend screenings, their experiences at screenings and the impact on their health. 

We heard how appointment letters were inaccessible, how poor communication about the procedure from services led to fear and uncertainty for women with learning disabilities and how misconceptions prevented women from different communities across Redbridge from attending.

At HWR we believed that the important insights garnered from a small sample of women in our community highlighted issues that warranted further examination. 

Expanding on our initial conversations with local women, the research for Phase 1 consisted of extensive outreach and engagement work, visiting 17 community hubs to deliver presentations providing trusted health information, collaboration with health professionals and 48 in-depth interviews with women across Redbridge about their personal experiences of cervical screening.  

The report findings reveal barriers that will require system wide change, and co-operation from service providers and community organisations across Redbridge, at all levels. 

Recommendations

Improvement of access and person-centred service provision

• Ensure staff are well-trained in culturally sensitive, trauma-informed care and represent diverse communities.
• Tailor strategies to prevent women in temporary accommodation missing screenings due to relocations.
• Provide flexible appointment options for women, outside of standard working hours.
• Expand outreach to community-based services ensuring invitations reach eligible women from seldom heard communities in a timely way.
• Improve accessibility of clinics and equipment across health centres and GP surgeries.
• Promote home testing kits by running national and local campaigns to inform people about the availability and ease of using testing kits at home.

Information & Awareness 

• Improve information provision with feedback mechanisms in patient forums.
• Co-design materials and services for women with community organisations.
• Ensure translated materials readily available and use community health workers to engage with communities.
• Eradicate misconceptions through educational campaigns in community hubs, ensuring all women receive the necessary care.
• All communication in Redbridge must consistently include AIS-approved standard information to ensure equity of access and inclusion for all women.

Data Quality 

• Data recording needs to improve particularly in capturing information related to ethnicity and disability providing valuable insights into healthcare inequalities to ensure fair access to services and tailor interventions to meet the needs of diverse populations effectively.