Recent reports have indicated that minority ethnic women are less likely than white women to attend cervical cancer screenings, with four in 10 saying they would feel unsafe attending a doctor’s surgery as a result of the pandemic.
In a study for Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, it is reported that black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) women are twice as likely (20%) to be strongly worried about contracting the virus at a cervical cancer screening than white women (9.4%). It also found that BAME women are a third more likely (39.6%) to feel unsafe visiting a doctor’s surgery at the moment than white women (27.2%).
The report comes as 2.5m appointments for cancer screening, tests and treatments – including cervical cancer screening appointments – have been delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Dr Raj Patel, deputy director of primary care for NHS England, said in a statement to The Guardian said, “NHS services are safe and people need to come forward for essential care, checks and treatment…I would strongly advise anyone invited for a cervical smear test to attend because screening saves lives.”
