Latest news with #LadyGardenFoundation
North Wales Live
17-06-2025
- Health
- North Wales Live
Employers told they should give women time off work for screening
Companies are being urged to allow women time off to attend potentially life-saving screening appointments. The Lady Garden Foundation is calling on employers to grant all those eligible time off. The plea comes following research ahead of the start of Cervical Screening Awareness Week (19 – 24 June), where it was revealed that over a third of women said they've put off attending their cervical screenings due to work commitments. The research, conducted by gynaecological cancer charity, the Lady Garden Foundation, also found that half of the women polled said they had felt pressured to prioritise work over personal health appointments, including cervical screenings. Nearly a third of women admitted to having booked annual leave for their screenings, whilst 16% said their boss or workplace had insisted they book time off to attend their appointments. Nearly a third also claimed that their boss or workplace would not see their cervical screening as a good reason to be off work. 48% say companies should give paid time off to attend screenings, whilst more than three-quarters believe women should have a legal right. Despite more than 16 million British women over the age of 16 in employment, more than half of those surveyed said they were unaware of any policies or programmes in their workplace to support women to take time off to attend their cervical screening. Jenny Halpern Prince MBE, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of the Lady Garden Foundation, said: ' NHS England estimates that five million women currently aren't up to date with their cervical screenings. "Whilst it is so important for us to educate and empower women to attend these potentially life-saving screenings, employers have a huge role to play in enabling women to have the time off they need, whilst also normalising the conversation in the workplace. "This is evident in the fact that our research told us 60% of women believed more open workplace conversations would encourage them to attend. Our campaign is about recognising the vital role employers play and encouraging them to get to work on supporting the health of women in their business'. Cervical cancer is most commonly diagnosed in women between 30-34 years old, however, it can occur at any age, with early detection being key. In 2023-24, 5.12 million women in England aged between 25-64 were due a cervical cancer screening, only 3.25 million women were tested – 99.8% of cases are preventable if women regularly attend their screenings and are HPV vaccinated.
Wales Online
16-06-2025
- Health
- Wales Online
Employers told they should give women time off work for screening
Employers told they should give women time off work for screening A third of women have put off cervical screening because of work commitments Nearly a third of women admitted to having booked annual leave for their screenings Companies are being urged to allow women time off to attend potentially life-saving screening appointments. The Lady Garden Foundation is calling on employers to grant all those eligible time off. The plea comes following research ahead of the start of Cervical Screening Awareness Week (19 – 24 June), where it was revealed that over a third of women said they've put off attending their cervical screenings due to work commitments. The research, conducted by gynaecological cancer charity, the Lady Garden Foundation, also found that half of the women polled said they had felt pressured to prioritise work over personal health appointments, including cervical screenings. Nearly a third of women admitted to having booked annual leave for their screenings, whilst 16% said their boss or workplace had insisted they book time off to attend their appointments. Nearly a third also claimed that their boss or workplace would not see their cervical screening as a good reason to be off work. 48% say companies should give paid time off to attend screenings, whilst more than three-quarters believe women should have a legal right. Despite more than 16 million British women over the age of 16 in employment, more than half of those surveyed said they were unaware of any policies or programmes in their workplace to support women to take time off to attend their cervical screening. Jenny Halpern Prince MBE, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of the Lady Garden Foundation, said, 'NHS England estimates that five million women currently aren't up to date with their cervical screenings[3]. Whilst it is so important for us to educate and empower women to attend these potentially life-saving screenings, employers have a huge role to play in enabling women to have the time off they need, whilst also normalising the conversation in the workplace. This is evident in the fact that our research told us 60% of women believed more open workplace conversations would encourage them to attend. Our Public Cervix Announcement is about recognising the vital role employers play and encouraging them to get to work on supporting the health of women in their business'. Article continues below Cervical cancer is most commonly diagnosed in women between 30-34 years old, however, it can occur at any age, with early detection being key. In 2023-24, 5.12 million women in England aged between 25-64 were due a cervical cancer screening, only 3.25 million women were tested – 99.8% of cases are preventable if women regularly attend their screenings and are HPV vaccinated. The Lady Garden Foundation has created two 'Public Cervix Announcement' guides, one for employers and one for guides can be downloaded from the Lady Garden Foundation website.
Daily Mirror
29-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Emmerdale 'preventable illness' warning for millions of women
A women's health charity is urging people to get tested A women's health charity has issued a reminder to get tested after a heartbreaking soap storyline. Emmerdale has seen teenager Sarah Sugden (played by Katie Hall) given life-changing news following hospital tests. Her diagnosis of cervical cancer spearheads Emmerdale's most recent emotive storyline, which affects around 3,300 women every year in the UK. Cervical cancer is most commonly diagnosed in women between 30-34 years old, however, it can occur at any age, and the storyline highlights the importance of early detection and symptom awareness. In 2023-24, 5.12 million women in England aged between 25-64 were due a Cervical Cancer Screening, however only 3.25 million women were tested. The Lady Garden Foundation, is on a mission to significantly reduce the number of missed appointments through education, open conversation and research alongside The Royal Marsden Hospital. Almost half of women are intentionally putting off important cervical screenings despite 83 per cent also saying they believe they prevent cervical cancer, according to independent research commissioned by the foundation. Research conducted by the charity uncovered that embarrassment was the leading factor as to why cervical screenings were being purposely skipped, with more than one in ten claiming they have put it off due to forgetting to wax or shave beforehand. The NHS cervical screening programme offers testing to women between the ages of 25 and 64. More than five million women are invited for cervical screening each year in England. Approximately 1 in 20 women will have an abnormal screening result meaning high risk HPV is detected in the sample. This does not mean that all women with an abnormal test will develop cervical cancer. Early treatment and increased monitoring can prevent these cervical changes from developing into cancer. Co-founder and Chair of The Lady Garden Foundation Jenny Halpern Prince MBE said: 'The latest storyline in Emmerdale is an authentic portrayal of the journeys many women face each year in the UK and will hopefully spark national conversation, encouraging women to be made aware of the symptoms and the preventative measures to take to protect themselves and their loved ones. "It's vital that mainstream soaps like Emmerdale tackle these real life issues, opening up the dialogue to make people aware of the symptoms and benefits of early detection. 'We set up the Lady Garden Foundation in 2014 to help fund groundbreaking research into the five gynaecological cancers. Over the last 10 years, the foundation has grown as we aim to educate women and girls of all ages to understand the signs of gynae cancers whilst breaking the taboos.' John Butler, Consultant Gynaecological Oncology Surgeon at The Royal Marsden and Medical Director of The Lady Garden Foundation said: 'Cervical cancer is almost entirely preventable due to vaccination in school-age children and regular attendance at the screening programme. It is unlikely that women will develop cervical cancer if they have had their vaccination and regularly attend for cervical screening. If they develop abnormal symptoms such as bleeding after intercourse, bleeding between the periods, pelvic pain, abnormal vaginal discharge or bleeding after menopause, it's important to get checked out as these can indicate there is a problem. "If women are diagnosed with cervical cancer, they will be managed by a group of highly trained professionals who will review the biopsy, arrange appropriate scans and plan the best treatment. The cancer team and specialist nurses are points of contact to help you every step of the way. Please encourage all women to attend for their cervical screening and those between 11 and 25 attend for HPV vaccination. "The good news is that if we can increase vaccination and screening attendance rates cervical cancer could be eradicated in the future.'
