Cervical screening video campaign showing in 500 pharmacies

A cervical screening video campaign will be shown in 500 pharmacies across the UK to mark cervical screening awareness week, a women’s charity has announced.

Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI) said it wanted to highlight the importance of preventing cervical cancer by detecting certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV) early.

The project began when three charity volunteers turned an internal graphic into a video then approached the local Pyramid Pharmacy in Cannock, the West Midlands, to ask whether it could be played on its screens.

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It then expanded when the chain’s video providers, 9Ways Digital Media, decided to syndicate the video across its 600 screens in 500 pharmacies ‘from Aberdeen to Cornwall’.

The video comes ahead of cervical screening awareness week from 15 June to 21 June, which aims to encourage the uptake of screenings as well as educate people about cervical cancer and its prevention.

It is estimated that eliminating cervical cancer will require at least 80% of women aged 25 to 64 to take up their screening appointments, yet screening uptake remains a ‘persistent challenge’, the charity said.

One of SIGBI’s programme action leads, Jackie Prince, added: ‘The video is a key part of raising awareness and helps women understand there are other ways to be screened for HPV and cervical cancer.

‘It enables us to reach even more people and help thousands more understand cervical cancer and what services are available to prevent it.’

The charity said that screening is vital in helping people detect certain types of HPV that can cause cell changes to the cervix than can be easily treated to prevent cervical cancer from developing.

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The president of the Royal College of Pharmacy, Tase Oputu, said: 'As highly accessible healthcare professionals, pharmacists can help raise awareness of cervical screening, provide trusted advice and signpost people to appropriate services.

‘By supporting informed decisions and helping to reduce barriers to care, pharmacists can play an important role in improving uptake of screening programmes and supporting better health outcomes.’

Chief executive of the Company Chemists’ Association, Malcolm Harrison, said that because people visit their local pharmacy up to 12 times more than their GP it creates valuable opportunities for pharmacists to have conversations about screening and prevention.

He also welcomed the government's commitment to an HPV vaccination catch-up programme, as set out in the National Cancer Plan.

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A Swedish analysis of data of almost a million girls and women between 2006 and 2023 recently found that vaccination against HPV reduces cervical cancer risk up to 18 years later with no signs of waning protection.

Writing in the BMJ, the researchers concluded that the results ‘further support global strategies aimed at cervical cancer elimination through high vaccine coverage, particularly in younger populations’.