Procurement for ‘groundbreaking’ cancer service delayed

NHS England has had to cancel the procurement of a “groundbreaking” cancer screening programme due to “procedural issues”.

The NHS wants to roll out a new self-testing service to improve uptake of cervical cancer screening, which remains persistently below the NHSE target.

The aim was to enable people in under-screened groups to order self-sampling test kits via the NHS App from June 2026 onwards.

However, this target has now been put in doubt after NHSE announced on 12 March it had terminated the procurement.

This came nine days after it had announced its intention to award the three-year contract worth £15.6m to supply and deliver the kits to diagnostics and digital health provider Chronomics.

Last summer, the government announced the new HPV self-sampling service would be a “ground-breaking initiative” intended to “revolutionise cervical cancer prevention rates by tackling deeply entrenched barriers that keep some women away from potentially life-saving screenings”.

Those barriers include “a fear of discomfort, embarrassment, cultural sensitivities and the struggle to find time for medical appointments”, the government said. Screening uptake remains at 68.8% against a target rate of 80%.

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Source: HSJ, 31 March 2026