MORE than 20 per cent of women in Dorset do not attend their cervical screening appointments, figures have revealed - as it emerged screenings are now at a 20-year low nationally.
Access to face-to-face appointments being slashed due to Covid and reluctance to attend medical appointments amid the pandemic are being blamed for the drop.
The latest figures show that 78 per cent of women in Dorset attend their cervical screening. The number of women attending their cervical cancer test in the UK is at a 20-year-low, at an average of 72.2 per cent, according to the latest government statistics.
Women aged 25 to 64 should be invited by letter to have cervical screenings, and last year more than 4 million were invited for theirs.