There has been a drop in the number of eligible women being screened for cervical cancer in Haringey according to the latest NHS data. Local London Assembly Member Joanne McCartney AM has described this as “a concerning move in the wrong direction.” She also said it was “further evidence that the NHS needs to be allocated more resources to effectively engage with women across our community.” Her remarks coincide with Cervical Screening Awareness Week which runs from Monday 11^th to Sunday 17^thJune.

Cervical screening looks for abnormal cells in the cervix that can develop into cancer.

The most recent statistics, which cover the period of March 2016-March 2017, show that there was a 1.7% decrease in the number of eligible women aged 25-64 years who were adequately screened in Haringey,compared to the previous year and a 1.5% decrease in Enfield.

This reflects the national trend where there has been a 0.7% reduction in screening coverage, down to 72%. The fall in coverage comes in spite of the fact that there was an increase in the number of women, totalling 4.45 million, invited to undertake a screening.

London has the lowest average rate of coverage in the country with only two thirds of eligible women having gone through the screening programme between 2016 and 2017. Ms McCartney AM said she was backing calls for the Mayor of London to consider how to further promote awareness of cervical screening in the capital.

Local London Assembly Member Joanne McCartney AM said:

“Cervical screenings save lives, and it is clear more must be done to encourage all eligible women to undertake them.

“It might be that the downward trend we are seeing in our local community, and across the capital, is due to our increasingly transient population, with less Londoners registering with a GP, or down to a lack of NHS resources.

“With the level of take up in London lagging behind the national average, it’s vital the Mayor takes action to address this serious health inequality. That’s why I’m backing calls for Sadiq Khan to look into how we can promote awareness of cervical screening in the capital.

“The Government must also do their part by looking at how screenings can be made more accessible and ensuring that adequate resources are in place to enable the NHS to reach more women.”

Today on the 25^th World Mental Health Day, Local London Assembly Member, Joanne McCartney AM, is calling on businesses to put mental health on their agenda. The theme of this year’s awareness event, set by the World Federation for Mental Health, is workplace wellbeing. Ms McCartney urged employers to take action to “tackle the culture of silence that all too often surrounds mental illness.”

To mark World Mental Health Day, the mental health campaign charity, Time to Change, is asking organisations to take extra steps to ensure employees experiencing mental illness are properly supported. Ms McCartney said with local people spending a significant amount of their time in the workplace “it’s a good place to start when it comes to talking about our mental wellbeing.”

Earlier this year the Mayor of London launched his Thrive LDN campaign, a city-wide initiative designed to improve mental health by supporting Londoners, and especially young Londoners, to lead healthier, happier lives. Bringing together experts from public and private organisations, the campaign aims to eradicate mental health stigma and discrimination and to make London a zero-suicide city.

Local London Assembly Member, Joanne McCartney AM, said:

“Although there have been positive strides forward in recent years, there is still a long way to go in the fight for equality between mental health and physical health.

“With a significant proportion of our lives spent in the workplace it is a good place to start when it comes to talking about our mental wellbeing.

“I hope local employers will seize the opportunity World Mental Health Day provides to tackle the culture of silence that all too often still surrounds mental illness.”