Debate on cervical screening extension to be held in Senedd today
Women now need to wait five years between screenings
A debate will be held in the Senedd today regarding the extension of time between cervical screenings in Wales.
Previously, women aged 25-49 would wait three years between smear tests, which test for HPV and cancer.
But Public Health Wales announced that the three year interval would be extended to five years, following a recommendation from the UK National Screening Committee in 2019.
Following the publication of the changes, over 30,000 people in Wales have signed a petition calling for the debate.
In the petition, submitted by Joanne Stroud, it was argued that "there has been no public consultation" and was met with "anger, sadness and serious concern for the cervical health of Welsh women".
The 30,000 people who signed the government's petition is eclipsed, however, by the 1.2 million women who signed an online petition on Change.org objecting against the changes.
Five-year intervals are currently being practiced after the law changed on January 1st, but the debate in the Senedd could reverse the change back to three-year breaks.
Speaking about the change in policy at the time of the rules changing, Louise Dunk, Head of Programme for Cervical Screening Wales at Public Health Wales said that advancements in technology could facilitate the delaying.
“The HPV test we now use in Wales is more effective at identifying people at higher risk of developing cell changes which can cause cervical cancer," she said.
“The evidence shows that it is therefore safe to extend the time between cervical screening tests for people who do not have HPV identified.”
But the petition that was submitted to the Senedd argued that HPV is not the sole cause of cervical cancer, which could lead to later diagnoses of the virus.