Hansard

I congratulate my colleague Ruth Maguire on securing the debate and on her very powerful opening speech; I know that she is sitting right behind me.

We know that the human papilloma virus vaccine helps to protect people from HPV-related cancers, including cervical cancer. The first study of its kind, which was funded by Cancer Research UK, has shown that rates of cervical cancer in women in their 20s who were offered the bivalent Cervarix HPV vaccine at ages 12 to 13 in England were 87 per cent lower than the rates in those who did not receive the vaccine.

That is why it is essential to vaccinate all those who are eligible by improving uptake so that they receive their vaccine. The HPV immunisation statistics for Scotland for the 2021-22 school year show that HPV vaccination coverage increased in comparison with the previous year. However, the numbers are not equivalent to pre-pandemic levels in all areas, and there is still significant regional and local variation.

Coverage of the first dose of HPV vaccine for secondary 1 pupils increased in 2021-22, with overall coverage rates of 73.5 per cent, in comparison with 52.1 per cent in 2020-21. By the end of S2, 86.4 per cent of females had received the first dose. While those statistics are welcome, however, I ask the minister to ensure that the Scottish Government is doing all that it can to enable HPV vaccine take-up.

I want to touch on screening also. We know that screening is key to both preventing cancers developing more widely and detecting cancers at an early stage, when treatment is more likely to be successful. Cervical screening aims to identify whether a person is at higher risk of developing cervical cell changes or cervical cancer, which enables them to access treatment quickly.

Self-sampling as part of screening for HPV is an area that I have been pursuing. I know that the Scottish Government is pursuing that also. In the previous session of Parliament, I was made aware that 6,000 women in Dumfries and Galloway had defaulted on their invitation to attend their screening smear test. That meant that 6,000 women were being missed. I met Dr William Forson and Dr Heather Currie, who, along with their team, were attempting to improve screening numbers by introducing a self-sampling approach, which they wanted to test for effectiveness in addressing the women who were failing to accept and attend the invite to screening.

I am pleased to hear that that approach has now been picked up by the Government. There are benefits to self-sampling. Home tests, away from clinics and general practices, offer people a choice of place. There is no interruption to work or travelling to an appointment necessary, and there are no other barriers to the take-up of cervical screening.

As we have heard already, some women find the intimate examination that is involved in having a smear test very difficult, painful, distressing and embarrassing. Self-sampling for HPV is one way to help increase screening uptake, especially for women in remote, island and rural areas such as my South Scotland region. I was one of the defaulters who were contacted by NHS Dumfries and Galloway, and I had the opportunity to take part in the self-test trial, so I would be grateful if the minister could provide an update on the status of home sampling and on whether there are any findings about its success.

During lockdown, I attended a Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust online meeting with women who were part of the Wigtownshire Women and Cancer charity. It was an excellent presentation. The Jo’s Trust representatives were fantastic, and they supported a continuation of engaging with women and supporting them in taking up their screening. I encourage women to do the same.

Again, I thank Ruth Maguire for securing the debate, and I look forward to hearing the minister’s response.