Cervical screening (smear tests) for people with a learning disability

Smear tests can help stop you getting cervical cancer. It is your choice whether to have a smear test. This information can help you decide. 

Women are asked to go for smear tests from age 25 to age 64.

In England and Northern Ireland you are invited:

• every 3 years if you are between age 25 and 49
• every 5 years if you are between age 50 and 64

In Scotland and Wales you are invited every 5 years if you between age 25 and 64.

Any woman who has had sex with a man or a woman should think about having a smear test.

This means any kind of sex, like:

• vaginal sex
• anal sex
• oral sex

It also means any kind of sexual touching, or if you have used a sex toy with someone else.

Even if you have never had any kind of sex or touching in the genital area, you can still go for a smear test. It is your choice.

If someone says you don’t need a smear test because you have a learning disability, this is not true. 

Parents and carers, and doctors and nurses might not know if you have had sex or if you have been touched by someone else in the genital area before.

This means they might not know if you need a smear test.

It is important that women with a learning disability are given the option to go to a smear test. It saves thousands of women’s lives every year.

What happens during a smear test?

You get a letter asking you to go to your doctors for a smear test. 

You need to phone your doctors to make an appointment for your smear test. You can ask someone you trust to do this if it is hard for you to use a phone.

It is easier to have the test on a day that is not your period. Try to book an appointment for when you are not bleeding.

A nurse usually does the smear test. You can ask for a female nurse to do your test when you book your appointment.

You can ask for a friend to be with you during the test. They can stay in the waiting area or they can be in the room with you during the test.

You will go into a private room. The nurse will ask about your health.

The nurse will ask you to go behind a curtain so you have privacy, and take your pants (underwear) off.

The nurse will ask you to lie down on a bed and put a sheet over your private area so you are covered up. When you are ready you can tell the nurse and they will come behind the curtain. This is the time to try to relax. 

They will ask you to bend your knees upwards so your feet are flat on the bed. Then they’ll ask you to open your legs so they can insert a speculum into your vagina.

A speculum is a tube that gently opens your vagina. The speculum may feel uncomfortable. If it hurts, tell the nurse to stop.

A small brush is put inside the speculum. It takes a sample of cells from your cervix. This should not hurt.

The speculum and brush are taken out and the test is over. The test will only take a couple of minutes. The whole visit to the doctor takes about 15 minutes.

The sample of cells is then sent to a laboratory where they are tested. You will get a letter with your results a few weeks after your test.

You can talk about your results with your carer, guardian, or learning disability nurse. Or you can call Jo’s on 0808 802 8000.

All calls to Jo’s are private.