THE number of women having life-saving checks for breast and cervical cancer has fallen in Glasgow.

New figures show that 70.9% of women eligible for cervical smears took the GP test in 2014/2015, well below the national standard of 80%.

The lowest uptake was the Glasgow’s North West, where only 60.3% of women had the test.

Almost a fifth of women in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde did not take up the invitation despite a letter and two reminders.

Almost half of the cases of cervical cancer (47%) were detected through smear tests.

A total of 417 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer in Greater Glasgow last year. Of those, 57 had never had a smear test.

The death of reality TV star Jady Goody from the disease in 2009 prompted a dramatic surge in the numbers of women who were annually tested for cervical cancer.

Uptake for breast cancer screening also fell last year. A total of 84, 864 women were screened from April 1 2014 to March 31 this year representing 64.2% of the population and falling short of the target of 70%.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK, despite the fact that it is rare in men.

A total of 779 women were diagnosed with breast cancer following mammogram checks. The lowest uptake was in Renfrewshire and the north west of Glasgow at 59.6% and 59.4% respectively.

Of the 673 women with learning disabilities, only 307 were screened.

A pilot project in GP surgeries aimed at encouraging more women to get screened led to a 2.2% increase in uptake, with one practice reporting a 6.2% increase.

However, the number of people sending back a home testing kit for bowel cancer increased to 53% last year, from 51.5% the previous year, although it falls shorts of the national target of 60%.

The percentage uptake was higher in women at 55.9% compared with 50.6% of men. The lowest uptake (41.9%) was among men aged 50-54.

The number of men taking up screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm also increased last year to 80%, exceeding the minimum standard of 70%.

Report author Dr Emilia Crighton said: “It’s disappointing that there are eligible people who aren’t taking up cervical, breast and bowel screening opportunities despite local and national awareness raising campaigns.

“Regular cervical screening is the best way for women to protect themselves against cervical cancer and the test takes less than five minutes.

“Breast screening is an important tool in the fight to cut rates of cancer. A number of steps have been taken to make this as easy as possible, including additional community engagement in those areas where uptake is at its lowest.