Stockport school nurses share success with HPV vaccination

Stockport school nurses who have led the way in the successful HPV vaccination of young girls have been sharing their success with colleagues across the country.

School nurse leaders Anne Marie Gallogly and Fran Jackson attended the NHS ConfedExpo in Manchester Central to discuss with colleagues across the country about their contributions to celebrate the North West’s progress towards the national ‘Race to Elimination’ campaign to eradicate cervical cancer by 2040 – a disease that, at present, causes the deaths of more than two women in the UK every day.

The HPV vaccine reduces your chances of getting human papillomavirus (HPV), a common virus that’s spread through skin contact.

Virtually every case of cervical cancer is caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) 2, and so vaccinating children at school age is the most effective way of greatly reducing rates of the cancer.

HPVs can also cause other cancers as well, including mouth cancer and anal cancer, and so vaccination can protect against these too.

Stockport was one of two areas to pilot the HPV vaccination for girls back in September 2007. Since then, the school nursing team from Stockport NHS Foundation Trust has been one of the best performing in the country in successfully introducing HPV vaccination.

Boys as well as girls now receive the vaccination. The latest results for 2022/23 show the team have successfully vaccinated 84.7% of girls with two effective doses, and 78.4% of boys, higher than the respective national averages of 75.7% for girls and 69.6% for boys.

Fran Jackson, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust Service Lead for School Nursing said

“Nationally, NHS England has pledged to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040, which would help save so many lives. HPV vaccination is the key to achieving this, and we are very proud that Vicky Riley, Immunisation Lead and her team, supported by the Stockport school nursing team have been at the forefront of this effort. The NHS Confedexpo was a really good opportunity to share our findings and expertise with colleagues elsewhere, so that we can all work together to make cervical cancer history.”