Scottish Cervical Screening Programme
Cervical screening was introduced in Scotland in the 1960s. Although large numbers of women were offered tests, the service at this time was not introduced as a population based programme. In 1978 committees were established by the UK Department of Health and a review was carried out in Scotland resulting in the Strong Report.
The national cervical screening programme was introduced in Scotland in 1988 with the aim of reducing the incidence of invasive cancer of the cervix. Cervical screening is offered to eligible women aged 20-60 every three years. Women with an abnormal screening history will continue to be invited for follow-up as appropriate.
Cervical screening can identify cell changes which may develop to be pre-cancerous in women who otherwise have no symptoms; at this stage, any changes can be easily treated, and treatment is usually very effective.
In May 2007, following a review of local call recall arrangements in Scotland, a new national IT system, the Scottish Cervical Call Recall System (SCCRS), was introduced across NHS Scotland.
The report from the most recent National Statistics publication can be found on our Publications page.
Key facts
At 31st March 2011:
- Of eligible women, 73.6% had been screened in the previous 3.5 years, a slight decrease of 0.1% compared to 31st March 2010.
- Compared to 31st March 2010, uptake rates have remained constant or increased in 6 out of the 15 NHS Boards. A slight decrease occurred in the remaining 9 NHS Boards but the majority continue to be considerably higher than those 3 years ago, at 31st March 2008.
In 2010-11:
- Just over 390,00 cervical screening tests were processed within the programme which is an increase of approximately 4% in the last 3 years since 2007-08.
- Of all tests processed, just over 97% were of satisfactory quality. Of satisfactory results, 90.8% had a negative result, 7.9% had a low grade cell change and the remaining 1.3% had high grade cell changes.
- The lowest average laboratory turnaround time of 10 working days was found in quarter 3 (October to December).
Tables and charts
IMPORTANT: The following tables and charts are based on the pre-2006 Health Board configuration: NHS Highland does not include Argyll & Bute area and NHS Greater Glasgow does not include Clyde area.
Annual data:
- Annual uptake data
[112KB] up to 31st March 2011 by NHS Board of Residence - Annual workload data [104KB] up to 31st March 2011: number of screening tests processed, percentage of unsatisfactory screening tests and results by NHS Laboratory
Quarterly data:
- Number of screening tests processed [56KB] up to 31st March 2011 by NHS Laboratory
- Turnaround times [64KB] up to 31st March 2011 by NHS Laboratory
- Reporting times [33KB] up to 31st March 2011 by NHS Board of residence
- Workload_with_turnaround_times [28KB] up to 31st March 2011 by NHS Laboratory
Historical data: to 31st March 2007
- Percentage of unsatisfactory screening test results by quarter [33KB] up to 31st March 2007 by NHS Laboratory
- Screening test results by quarter (numbers) [273KB] up to 31st March 2007 by NHS Laboratory
- Screening test results by quarter (percentages) [296KB] up to 31st March 2007 by NHS Laboratory
- Crosstabulation by quarter [281KB] of number of screening tests up to 31st March 2007 by NHS Board of residence and NHS board performing analysis
Cervical cancer incidence [112KB] trends in incidence since the start of the screening programme
Cervical screening links
Cervical cancer statistics : detailed incidence and mortality data, lifetime risk, prevalence and survival statistics.
NHS Cervical Screening Programme (NHSCSP) : general information and publications relating to cervical screening in the UK.
Cervical Screening - National Overview (November 2003) 
[484KB]: report produced by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland.
National Services Division (NSD) , which has responsibility for providing the Scottish Cervical Screening Programme.
Scottish Cervical Call Recall System (SCCRS)
Information about cervical Screening
Cervical Screening information available here : leaflets produced by Health Scotland
Cervical Screening Data Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions relating to the cervical screening programme are available here
[15KB]
Glossary
Glossary of Cervical Screening terms relating to the data on this website [65KB]
Details of data sources
