Healthcare strategy
Case study: Building the evidence base for HPV self-sampling: North Central London and North East London Cancer Alliances
Some of the barriers to traditional cervical screening include discomfort, time constraints, cultural beliefs, and trauma. To address this, the North Central London and North East London Cancer Alliances partnered with King’s College London, NHS England, Public Health England, UCL, NHS Digital, and Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust to
prioritising care for the people at highest risk of cancer.
l The UK will become a global leader on cancer survival by 2035. The successful implementation of this plan will mean that three in every four people diagnosed in 2035 will be cancer-free or living well with cancer after five years. That translates to 320,000 more lives saved over the course of this plan. The means will be a whole society approach to prevention, a technology-enabled new paradigm in early diagnosis, and a new level of rigour in the approach to continuous quality improvement.
l The Lung Cancer Screening programme will be rolled out nationally by 2030 and the NHS will increase the sensitivity of bowel cancer screening, catching thousands of cancers earlier and saving thousands of lives.
l The government will pass the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, meaning no one born on or after 1 January 2009, will be able to legally buy tobacco – the leading avoidable cause of cancer.
l The government will continue to tackle the obesity epidemic, by accelerating GLP-1 medicine uptake and a new healthy standard
launch the ‘YouScreen’ study. HPV self-sampling kits were distributed
across five boroughs in North and East London with historically low screening rates. Over 27,000 people were offered kits, and 8,838 returned samples, with 64% from ethnic minority groups and 60% from deprived populations. This uptake
for large food and drink retailers.
l Catch-up HPV vaccinations will be rolled out to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040.
l By 2028, the NHS App will be the front door for cancer care, allowing patients to manage screening invitations, appointments, and treatment plans. By 2035 it will bring together genomic and lifestyle data with the single patient record to provide personalised risk profiles and prevention advice, giving patients greater control of their health.
l More patients will be able to access genomic testing, both to find more people with a higher inherited risk of cancer and so that every patient who needs a genomic test to support treatment gets one, with results returned in time to make a difference to their treatment.
l More patients will have access to top-quality care through a new approach to quality – including publication of new cancer manuals – and by providing more patients with access to specialist treatment centres.
l The government will provide up to £10 million per year to pay for the travel costs for cancer care for children and young people, including their families.
significantly surpassed previous campaigns and highlights the role of self-sampling in reducing health inequalities. In June 2025, the Department of Health and Social Care announced that HPV self-sampling will be nationally rolled out, and offered to all those who have missed cervical screening, as part of the 10-Year Health Plan
l Neighbourhood multi-disciplinary teams will meet the needs of children and young people with cancer and will support earlier diagnosis.
l A national lead for rare cancers will be appointed, and the government will explore novel procurement routes for diagnostics or treatments for rarer cancers to pull through breakthrough diagnostics or treatments for the rare cancers with the most stubbornly low survival rates. It will make rare cancers a priority for research by implementing the Rare Cancers Bill and supporting the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission to extend its approach to other rare cancers.
l Patients will be able to give their treatment team real-time feedback through digital Patient Reported Outcome Measures, putting patients in control and helping their clinical team react to changes in their condition.
l Every patient will have a named neighbourhood care lead to coordinate their care and support after treatment.
l The government will increase recruitment to clinical trials, particularly for patients with rare cancers, from poorer areas, and from ethnic minority groups, who have been less able to join clinical trials in the past.
Responding to the report Dr. Nicky Thorp, Vice-President for Clinical Oncology at the Royal College of Radiologists, said: “This National Cancer Plan is a huge milestone on the journey to transform cancer care in England. We are pleased to see the Plan commit to all the measures we have been calling for, including radical reform of inefficient multidisciplinary team meetings. We will lead this work to ensure that changes allow clinicians to deliver faster and more effective patient care. “The government also backed our call to
cut red tape on the latest, innovative cancer treatments, giving more eligible patients access to treatments that can mean less time in hospital and could improve quality of life.
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www.clinicalservicesjournal.com I March 2026
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