Lady Garden Foundation has launched its ‘Encourage Your Team To Screen’ campaign, calling on employers to grant all those eligible time off to attend their potentially life-saving cancer screenings. The plea comes following research where it was revealed that over a third of women (35%) said they’ve put off attending their cervical screenings due to work commitments.
The research was conducted by the gynaecological cancer charity, Lady Garden Foundation and comes following the recent announcement from NHS England on rolling out more personalised cervical screenings and more accurate human papillomavirus (HPV) testing.
Half (50%) of the women surveyed said they had felt pressured to prioritise work over personal health appointments, including cervical screenings. In addition, NHS England has also reported that the uptake of the HPV vaccine is lower than pre-pandemic levels3 which is particularly concerning as the HPV vaccine and cervical screenings are the two protective methods against most cervical cancers.
Nearly a third (31%) of women also admitted to having booked annual leave for their screenings, whilst shockingly, 16% said their boss or workplace had insisted they book time off to attend their appointments. Nearly a third (31%) also claimed that their boss or workplace would not see their cervical screening as a good reason to be off work.
Lady Garden Foundation’s call on employers is also supported by women across the country, with 48% agreeing that companies should give paid time off to attend screenings, whilst more than three-quarters (77%) believe women should have a legal right. Despite more than 16 million British women4 over the age of 16 in employment, more than half (58%) of those surveyed said they were unaware of any policies or programmes in their workplace to support women and those with a cervix to take time off to attend their cervical screening.
With some large UK companies and household names mandating a return to the office, 84% of the women surveyed also said that having the ability to work from home offered them more flexibility to attend medical appointments, including cervical screenings. This is particularly telling with nearly a third (31%) saying they struggle to get an appointment at a convenient time of day.
Jenny Halpern Prince MBE, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of the Lady Garden Foundation, said, “NHS England estimates that five million women currently aren’t up to date with their cervical screenings5. Whilst the recent introduction of cervical screening home tests – HPV self-sampling kits – for those who have missed their invite is an encouraging move, it is still vital for us to educate and empower women to attend these potentially life-saving screenings. Employers have a huge role to play in enabling women to have the time off they need to attend their appointments, whilst also normalising the conversation in the workplace. Our research told us 60% of women believed more open workplace conversations would encourage them to attend, so we encourage employers to recognise the crucial role they play in supporting the health of women in their business”.
Cervical cancer is most commonly diagnosed in women between 30-34 years old, however, it can occur at any age, with early detection being key. Over a third of women in England did not attend their cervical screening between 2023 and 20243 – a concerning number given that 99.8% of cervical cancer cases are preventable if women regularly attend their screenings and are HPV vaccinated.
To help employers get to work on supporting women in the workplace, and to empower women to advocate for themselves and their cervix, Lady Garden Foundation has created two ‘Encourage Your Team To Screen’ guides, one for employers and one for employees. The guides can be downloaded from the Lady Garden Foundation website.