The Department of Health is working on a home smear DIY kit, to allow women to complete cervical cancer tests themselves, a health minister has confirmed.
Health Minister Jo Churchill said her department is working on developing the kit, which will be ready "in time" and is "committed to improving access for all women" to services such as cervical cancer screenings.
In 2018, only 70% of people eligible attended their cervical cancer smear tests.
Ms Churchill was asked by Tory Tracey Crouch whether the Department of Health were looking to make access to screenings more accessible.
"Many people with severe conditions such as agoraphobia face inequalities in terms of access to life-saving services such as cervical smear tests.
"What is my honourable friend doing to ensure that these services could be administered outside a clinical setting, thus reducing health inequalities for those who for whatever reason are housebound?," Ms Crouch (Chatham and Aylesford) asked.
Ms Churchill replied: "No woman should be denied access to vital screening."
She added: "We are actually working on the area of cervical screening on a home kit which should help in time, but nobody should be denied, we are committed to improving access for all women and I'll be happy to meet with her to see what we can do."
In November 2019 researchers at Queen Mary University of London announced that they have developed a home smear DIY kit for cervical cancer tests.
The kit allows women to take a vaginal swab or urine sample at home and send it into a lab, where it will be tested for chemical changes.
The kits, if successful, are expected to be available in three years time.
