Cross sectional survey of cervical cancer screening in women with learning disability

Coverage in the cervical cancer screening programme is markedly lower for women with learning disability than for the general female population. Additional factors that may contribute to limited access and may be amenable to change include low demand for screening from women with learning disability; perceived difficulty in obtaining consent for screening 5 ; difficulties with using appointment systems and waiting rooms; uncertainty about whether general practitioners or specialist teams are responsible for routine care; poor liaison with specialist services; inadequate training of general practitioners in communication skills; pressure of competing demands from other groups of patients.