Thousands of women in Sutton are having to contend with the anxiety of long waits for their smear test results.

A mandatory 14-day turnaround time was introduced for cervical screening results in 2010, and providers have to ensure they meet the target in at least 98 percent of cases.

But a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by RADAR to Public Health England has revealed that just 56 percent of women screened in the NHS Sutton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) area in the 12 months to July were sent their results within two weeks.

This means that 5,120 women who attended a smear test in this period didn't get their results through on time.

Despite falling below the 14-day benchmark, the performance in the CCG area was still above the national average.

More than three million results were sent out in England over the same period, and almost half of them were late.

Leading cancer charities have described the figures as "concerning", adding that long waits could cause increased anxiety at an already stressful time.

Only 16 out of 195 CCGs met the threshold for providing 98 percent of results within two weeks and one CCG - East Staffordshire - failed to get any results out on time.

Robert Music, chief executive of cervical cancer charity Jo's Trust, said: "Lots of people have approached us through our helpline saying they are waiting 12, 14, 16 weeks for their results.

"It is creating anxiety which is not a healthy thing, and our concern is that it could put women off attending their appointments.

"With screening attendance already at a 20-year low, that is worrying."

He added that it was believed survival rates for women who do develop cervical cancer would be unaffected by the increased waits, but that this couldn't be certain in every case.

Cancer Research UK said it understood the challenge the NHS was facing ahead of the HPV switch, but said it was important for turnaround times to be reduced "as quickly as possible".

NHS England has overarching responsibility for delivering the screening programme but Public Health England also plays a part in setting and maintaining standards.

Women can have a cervical screening appointment with a GP but can also attend sexual health centres, which are run by local authorities.

The smear samples are then sent away to be tested at one of dozens of cytology laboratories across the country.

NHS Sutton CCG has been contacted for further comment.

An NHS England spokeswoman said: “NHS England and Public Health England are committed to the introduction of primary HPV screening, which will identify more women at risk and save more lives.

"Enabling laboratories to convert to HPV primary screening ahead of the procurement process, is just one practical step being taken to ensure the NHS achieves full coverage of primary HPV screening by December 2019.”

A spokeswoman for PHE added: "PHE is supporting and advising NHS England in its efforts to ensure women receive their screening results within 14 days."