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Cervical screening: colposcopy

A leaflet to send to women referred for colposcopy, after an abnormal cervical screening result.

• From: NHS England
• Published: 1 January 2008
• Last updated: 24 June 2026
  Show all updates

  1. 24 June 2026

     Revised version - amended for readability but no clinical changes.

  2. 23 July 2024

     Removed screening helpdesk information and replaced with NHS England contact information. Removed signposting to Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust following closure of the charity.

  3. 4 August 2022

     Updating confidentiality section, replacing mention of Public Health England with NHS England.

  4. 31 October 2021

     Addition of plain A4 PDF version for printing, to provide for people unable to access this information online.

  5. 15 January 2020

     Removed outdated version of leaflet.

  6. 30 September 2019

     Added language translations of the leaflet for Arabic, Bengali, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, French, Gujarati, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi and Urdu.

  7. 29 August 2019

     Updated with new version of leaflet.

  8. 15 June 2016

     Updated leaflet.

  9. 1 January 2008

     First published.

Applies to England

Documents

NHS cervical screening: having a colposcopy

HTML

Cervical screening: helping you decide - for print

PDF, 83 KB, 6 pages

Cervical screening: having a colposcopy (Arabic)

PDF, 1.36 MB, 12 pages

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email england.contactus@nhs.net. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Cervical screening: having a colposcopy (Bengali)

PDF, 1.36 MB, 12 pages

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email england.contactus@nhs.net. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Cervical screening: having a colposcopy (Simplified Chinese)

PDF, 1.34 MB, 12 pages

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email england.contactus@nhs.net. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Cervical screening: having a colposcopy (Traditional Chinese)

PDF, 1.36 MB, 12 pages

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email england.contactus@nhs.net. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Cervical screening: having a colposcopy (French)

PDF, 1.24 MB, 12 pages

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email england.contactus@nhs.net. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Cervical screening: having a colposcopy (Gujarati)

PDF, 1.37 MB, 12 pages

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email england.contactus@nhs.net. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Cervical screening: having a colposcopy (Polish)

PDF, 1.25 MB, 12 pages

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

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If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email england.contactus@nhs.net. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Cervical screening: having a colposcopy (Portuguese)

PDF, 1.24 MB, 12 pages

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email england.contactus@nhs.net. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Cervical screening: having a colposcopy (Punjabi)

PDF, 1.32 MB, 12 pages

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email england.contactus@nhs.net. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Cervical screening: having a colposcopy (Urdu)

PDF, 1.33 MB, 12 pages

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email england.contactus@nhs.net. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Details

This leaflet explains the colposcopy examination. It includes information about:

• the reasons for needing a colposcopy
• having a colposcopy
• what happens afterwards
• what happens if treatment is needed

Free printed copies of this leaflet are provided for national call and recall (the Cervical Screening Administration Service (CSAS)) to send with letters to people referred for colposcopy.

This information is available in A4 PDF format (in English) to print out and provide for people who cannot access digital information (see list above).

Translations of this leaflet are available in 10 languages to download or print as required.

To request another format, you can phone 0300 311 22 33 or email england.contactus@nhs.net.