Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton Constituency, has raised serious concerns about the latest statistics on cervical cancer screening.

Figures published by Public Health Scotland highlighted that the number of smear tests fell by 45% in a year, from 318,727 in 2019-20 to 174,299 in 2020-21. Furthermore, the stats showed that uptake in the most deprived areas is 63%, compared to 74% in the least deprived.

Jackie Baillie MSP said:

“These scandalous figures lay bare the havoc wreaked by the pandemic on wider healthcare services.

“This fall in screenings will create a ticking time bomb of cancer diagnoses, with delays putting lives at risk.

“Scotland’s health inequalities are already a national scandal, and the stark gap in screening uptake between the best and the worst off makes it clear that once again it is the worst off who are being left behind. We need urgent action to close this gap.

“The SNP urgently need to come up with a proper cancer recovery plan to get caught up on screening and get people the care they need. There isn’t a second to waste.”

ENDS