This month, NHS England has published a new national framework, the Population Screening Standards, setting a fresh benchmark for how screening is delivered across England.

The standards cover all 11 major programmes, including breast, cervical, bowel, diabetic eye, and abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), with an emphasis on consistency, equity, and measurable quality. The aim is to ensure that every patient, in every region, receives the same high-quality experience and timely access to screening.

The new framework focuses on three key priorities:

• Consistency - all screening services must meet uniform standards, with regular audits and transparent performance data.
• Equity - systems are expected to identify and reduce variation in uptake by age, deprivation, ethnicity, or digital access.
• Collaboration - GP practices, local providers and commissioners should work together to deliver joined-up, patient-centred screening pathways.

For practices, this means tangible actions to support the shift:

• Review eligible-patient lists and ensure invitations, recalls and follow-ups reflect the new requirements.
• Offer alternative access routes for patients who cannot use digital tools or the NHS App.
• Use screening data to spot variation in uptake and collaborate with Primary Care Networks (PCNs) or Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) to close gaps.

These new standards reaffirm primary care’s central role in early detection and prevention, ensuring that no patient misses out on life-saving checks because of where they live and how they access care. This ingoing focus on equity and population health will be explored in greater depth at Best Practice London 2026, where experts will discuss how practices can turn policy into practical, patient centred outcomes.