In this article:
What is Cervical Screening
Sometimes called a Smear Test, Pap Smear or Pap Test - cervical screening is a 5-minute test. It is a test to check if your cervix is infected by HPV (the human papillomavirus) and if there are any abnormal changes to the cells of your cervix caused by the virus.
Catching abnormal changes early means that they can be treated. This reduces the chance of cells becoming cancerous.
Find out more information about cervical screening on NHS.UK
When to have an appointment
This screening is offered free of charge on the NHS and for GP at Hand patients with a cervix, aged 25 to 64.
In the UK, you are automatically invited to attend the cervical screening:
- For the first time around the age of 25
- Every 3 years thereafter, until age 49
- Every 5 years between age 50 and 64
You can decide if you want to get screening invites and reminders or not. If you don’t want to get invites and reminders, you can opt out of the NHS cervical screening programme.
How to book an appointment
You’ll receive a letter or email inviting you to attend your cervical screening. You may also receive an invite from us by the app. If you have notifications turned on for the Babylon app, we’ll send you a message with your invitation. The invite can also be found in the Care tab.
Your appointment will usually be with a Nurse and you can choose one of our clinics.
If you’ve had an invite
You can click on your invite in the app to book your appointment. If you have had a letter but no invite in the app, contact our support team and they will send you an invite to book your appointment.
If you’ve not had an invite
If you think you’re due a smear test, contact our support team and they will send you an invite to book your appointment.