Women aged from 25 to 64 years who are overdue their cervical screening – or have never been tested – can have a test on board the NHS’s Living Well bus during January, February and March 2026.
The mobile cervical screening service is touring Lancashire, visiting locations with lower rates of take-up of this life-saving screening.
Just like a visit to the GP, the bus provides a safe, comfortable and private area for cervical screening appointments to take place with a female-only medical team.
The Living Well bus offers a drop-in service, which means no appointments need to be booked in advance making it really convenient.
The Living Well bus is in these locations between 11am and 4pm each day:
- Thursday 8 January – Little Harwood Family Hub, Robinson Street, Blackburn
- Wednesday 14 January – Women Zone, Duckworth Street, Blackburn
- Saturday 24 January – Little Harwood Family Hub, Robinson Street, Blackburn
- Monday 26 January – Women Zone, Duckworth Street, Blackburn
- Friday 6 February – Audley Community Centre, Blackburn
- Wednesday 11 February – Little Harwood Family Hub, Robinson Street, Blackburn
- Thursday 19 February – Women Zone, Duckworth Street, Blackburn
- Monday 23 February – Shadsworth Family Hub, Shadsworth Road, Blackburn
- Tuesday 3 March – Duke Street car park, Blackburn
- Monday 9 March – Shadsworth Family Hub, Shadsworth Road, Blackburn
- Saturday 21 March – Duke Street car park, Blackburn
- Wednesday 25 March – Shadsworth Family Hub, Shadsworth Road, Blackburn
Dr Neil Smith, primary care director at Lancashire and South Cumbria Cancer Alliance, said:
"The cervical screening programme saves thousands of lives each year.
"We are targeting areas with low uptake and want to offer as many options as possible to make it as convenient as we can – no appointment is necessary, just drop in on the day.
"The screening appointments should only take around 10 minutes in total, but it’s 10 minutes out of your day that can potentially save your life."
Women attending the Living Well bus for cervical screening can bring someone with them to their appointment, such as a friend or family member, if it helps them to feel more comfortable.
Cervical screening, also known as the smear test, tests for HPV (human papillomavirus) which can cause cervical cancer.
If these types of HPV are found through regular screening, they can be treated before they get a chance to turn into cervical cancer.
Professor Abdul Razaq, Director of Public Health for Blackburn with Darwen, commented:
"More than 3,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer in the UK every year, but 99.8 per cent of cervical cancer cases are preventable if they are caught early, which is why screening is so important.
"I’d urge women between the ages of 25 and 64 who have missed their screening appointments, or have never had a test, to take the opportunity of dropping into the Living Well bus while it’s here in Blackburn with Darwen in familiar community locations.
"The whole appointment takes around 10 minutes – that’s all – and getting screened can mean that women became aware of having the HPV virus before cancer develops."
There’s more information about the Living Well bus, including videos showing what the bus looks like on the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board website.