A Congleton company is encouraging employees - and other employers - to let adults get cancer checks on company time.

Leading international pharma digital transformation agency, Kanga Health, has signed up to the Jo's Trust Time to Test campaign to celebrate Gynaecological Cancer Awareness Month and made an official pledge to their staff that they can attend cancer screening appointments during work hours.

2021 research by Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust, the UK's leading cervical cancer charity, has found that only 1 in 5 full-time workers were able to get a convenient cervical screening appointment the last time they tried to book.

Kanga prioritises its teams' health and wellbeing, actively empowering employees to manage their own schedules based on work and home life commitments. Including all medical appointments and support as needed. The agency's truly flexible working offering means that Kanga's staff can manage their life with complete autonomy, creating a healthy and happy workforce, with trust at the heart of the company's practices.

Beth Harcourt is a recent hire for Kanga, and found precancerous cells inside her on a pap smear last year. (Image - Kanga Health)

Marketing and Sales Coordinator for Kanga Health, Beth Harcourt, was diagnosed with precancerous cells following a routine smear test, in 2021 when she was 26:

"Working full-time, it was impossible to get an appointment to remove the precancerous cells without having to take a day's annual leave.

"Kanga let me take the day off to get my treatment, no questions asked, which involved a colposcopy, biopsy, and a Loop Electrosurgical Excision Procedure (LEEP). Thankfully, my biopsy was clear of cervical cancer but if I had put it off, the cells may have developed into cervical cancer.

I feel strongly that employees across all industries should be allowed to take time in work hours to attend a smear test in the same way that antenatal appointments are permitted during work hours. Therefore, I introduced my employer to the Jo's Trust's Time to Test initiative, to add to Kanga's health policies."

Only 1 in 5 who work can attend smear test appointments, resulting in high numbers delaying or taking annual leave. Source: Jo's Trust 2021

Paul Allen, Managing Director of Kanga Health, said: As employers we can help stop this and make cancer screening for all visible and important in the workplace, so more people feel confident and informed to attend.

"In fact, we feel so strongly about the Time to Test initiative, we have rolled out the scheme to all our Kanga employees to cover prostate examination appointments too. [Which is the second most common cancer for men.]

"There are many practical barriers to people attending cancer screening appointments, but by joining the Time to Test initiative, work hours will never be one for the Kanga team."

Kanga Health is located on the 1st floor of Meadowside, Mountbatten Way, Congleton, Cheshire, CW12 1DTY.

Prostate cancer under the microscope. (Image - CC 2.0 Unchanged Yale Rosen from USA bit.ly/3qjGUaE)

The nine year old Congleton company has seven directors involved with the company, and employ 43.

A Jo's Trust survey of 1020 women revealed that 1 in 5 have used annual leave to go for a cervical screening. 62% said that an increase in discussion about women's health in the workplace would make them feel more comfortable taking time off to look after their health.

The news comes in the same week that Sky Sports presenter Jo Wilson revealed her stage three cancer diagnosis, urging Britain to get checked.

Being in the health industry, the good gesture felt natural for Kanga.

Kanga have an office on Mountbatten Way in Congleton.

Kanga is a global digital healthcare agency, providing end-to-end services, to help health and pharma organisations with their successful digital transformation.

Congleton: Find more about them on their website.

See Also: Bid for new electric car charging stations near Congleton town centre 

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