Health needs of women who have sex with women: Cervical screening is offered without asking for sexual preferences

doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7437.464-a

BMJ 2004;328:464 (21 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7437.464-a

Letter

Health needs of women who have sex with women

Cervical screening is offered without asking for sexual preferences

The first 100% of the full text of this article appears below.

EDITOR—With reference to the editorial by Hughes and Evans,we emphasise that the NHS cervical screening programme offerscervical screening to all women without inquiring about theirsexual behaviour.¹

We agree that many women who have sex with women have, at sometime, also had a sexual relationship with a man, and their riskis no less than for the majority of the population. Women whohave never been sexually active with a man are equally entitledto cervical screening and may wish to discuss their situationwith their general practitioner or sexual health adviser beforemaking an informed decision about whether to participate inthe programme or not.

Julietta Patnick, director

NHS Cancer Screening Programmes, Sheffield S11 9PS julietta.patnick@sheffield-ha.nhs.uk

Catherine M Davison, information manager

NHS Cancer Screening Programmes, Sheffield S11 9PS

Competing interests: None declared.