Commissioned by NHS England and North of England CSU, the project which used iPLATO’s Population Health Service increased cervical cancer screening attendance by 6.3%.
Led by Dr Josephine Ruwende, Consultant in Public Health, Cancer Screening Lead, NHSE (London Region) reflected:
“Over the duration of this project, we have delivered significant impact which has saved the lives of many women in London by preventing cervical cancer or diagnosing it at an earlier stage when it is far more treatable and we are seeing more women now coming forward for screening.
“We will continue to learn and improve our services, incorporating more digital advancements to encourage women to take up their screening offer as we know there is a clear link to be observed between more women attending screening earlier and fewer deaths from cancer. We are proud that this work has been recognised by the HSJ Digital Awards 2023 and we hope it may even inspire other colleagues across the UK to pursue and put their ideas and innovations into practice too.”
Research by the British Journal of Cancer identified over 3,200 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer, leading to 850 deaths yearly. If all eligible women participated in cervical screening, 83% of cervical cancer deaths could be avoided, saving 706 lives.
In addition to increasing screening attendance, the initiative shortens the invite-to-appointment time by 17 days.
David Smith, Head of iPLATO’s Population Health Service team explains:
“Being shortlisted as finalists for our work reducing inequalities among women who attend screening appointments is well-deserved recognition of the life-saving impact we have achieved.
He continues, “The Population Health team has worked closely with partners at NHS England and North of England CSU to deliver improvements across screening attendance, which in turn saves the lives of many women around London.”
The Population Health Service team run many other types of projects including bowel cancer screening, research volunteer recruitment and localised free mental health support. Reach out to the team for more information by emailing sales@iplato.com.
