Labour’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Keighley has called for longer opening hours at Keighley district doctors’ surgeries to help safeguard women’s health.

John Grogan was responding to figures published by his party showing the number of Yorkshire women who are overdue for smear tests has risen substantially.

He noted the statistics, published recently, showed there are more than 40,000 more women in Yorkshire and the North East overdue for a cervical cancer test compared with three years ago.

He warned this is because women are struggling to book check-ups at their GP surgery at convenient times.

“These figures are concerning because, despite increased public awareness of the dangers of cervical cancer during recent years, the situation appears to be getting worse,” he added.

“Smear tests save thousands of lives each year, so it’s vital we make it easier for women to book their tests.

“Last month, we saw Keighley and Bradford overlooked in the government’s extended opening hours programme for doctors’ surgeries. This is exactly the sort of reason why we need longer opening hours at every surgery, so we can help women from Keighley get tested at a time convenient for them.”

Labour’s Shadow Minister for Care and Older People, Liz Kendall MP, who compiled the figures, said: “Someone is diagnosed with cervical cancer every three hours in the UK, and it kills three women every single day.”