News from our partners: Women reminded to take part in survey to shape services in the future

News from our partners Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH)

More than 2,000 women have filled out a survey on women’s health, but health bosses are urging more to take part and help shape services in the future. 

The survey is the first of its kind in the county and mid-Wales, and there is still time to have your say, with the survey closing on Monday 28 February 2022.

A Women’s Health Project Group, made up of Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care System (ICS) and patient representatives across the county and mid-Wales, set up the women’s health survey to try to find out the reasons why some women are not coming forward for screening and asking for help with the menopause.

Today (Monday 14 February 2022) also sees the launch of the Help Us Help You – Cervical Screening Campaign, which highlights the benefits of cervical screening and reminds people that it can help stop cancer before it starts.

The campaign, which has been launched by the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England and NHS Improvement, encourages those eligible for screening between the ages of 25 and 64 to respond to their cervical screening invitation letters and to book an appointment at their GP Practice if they missed their last one.

Two women die every day from cervical cancer in England. Yet it is one of the most preventable cancers and getting screened can help stop it before it starts. Screening checks for certain types of the HPV virus that can cause cell changes to your cervix. Cell changes are easily treated and this prevents cervical cancer.

Part of the women’s health survey looks at cancer screening services for women, as locally the number of women coming forward for breast and cervical screening services has been falling. The aim of the survey is to find out what local women know about screening, what they feel about taking part and what barriers they may face when they are invited to a screening appointment.

The second section of this survey looks at menopause, as on average half of women aged 45-65 who have experienced the menopause in the past 10 years have not consulted a healthcare professional about their menopausal symptoms. The group would like to know more about how much women living locally know about the menopause, how it affects them and their experience of healthcare, and what can be done to improve this.

Dr Priya George, Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group Clinical Lead for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, said:-

“Thank you to all those women who have taken the time to complete this survey,and I would encourage anyone who hasn’t had the chance yet to do so as soon as they can. This is a real chance for local women to let us know if there are any reasons they are not coming forward for cancer screening or for getting advice and support through menopause.

“We would like to find out more about your general awareness of the screening programme, and about menopause, and to understand any barriers that prevent you from being tested and getting expert advice and support when you need it. With this valuable information, we would like to further improve our women’s health services and make them more accessible to everyone.”

The link for the survey, which should take approximately 15 minutes to complete, is available here. All information provided for the survey will be anonymous.

Once the survey results are collated they will be analysed and shared with NHS providers and patient representatives, to see how improvements can be made to services and encourage more women to have screening and seek help with the menopause.

For any more information on the survey or paper copies of the survey email sath.engagement@nhs.net or ring 01743 261000 ext 2390.

Also, if you would like to be involved in any future workshops around women’s health, please email sath.engagement@nhs.net .

For more information on cervical screening visit the NHS website www.nhs.uk/cervicalscreening

Further information

Organisations involved in the Women’s Health Project are:

• Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care System (ICS)
• Healthwatch Shropshire
• Healthwatch Telford & Wrekin
• Powys Community Health Council
• Shropshire Patient Group
• Telford & Wrekin Patients First
• Shropshire Eastern European Association