Bradford women are to be encouraged to have cervical smear tests to increase uptake rates.

The drive is one of several action plans by Bradford City Primary Care Trust to tackle areas where targets are not being met.

A meeting of the Trust heard that out of 21 performance indicators it was at average or above average level in 12 of them.

Nancy O'Neill, clinical governance manager, said there was a low uptake of cervical smear tests for women aged between 25 and 64 and several initiatives had been launched to tackle this.

Practice nurses had been providing extra sessions in surgeries, specialist clinics with female GPs were being developed and the recall system was being improved.

Trust board chairman Mohammed Ajeeb said Muslim women would be reluctant to have smear tests for cultural or religious reasons. They would not want to be examined by a male doctor and might not come forward.

"We need to talk to women's groups to try to allay some of their fears," he said.

The meeting heard that not enough over-65s were receiving flu jabs - 65.4 per cent in Bradford compared to a 67.2 per cent national average.

However, the Bradford figure was considerably higher than the previous year when 52 per cent of over-65s were vaccinated.

A report to the meeting said the low uptake could be because of a shortage of practice nurses and a lack of motivation and awareness among the public.

The Trust considered looking at uptake figures within each practice and to investigate clinics for chronic conditions where the jabs could be given. Mr Ajeeb suggested they could be given at diabetes clinics and Ms O'Neill agreed this was a possibility.

Members also decided pharmaceutical companies should be encouraged to provide the vaccine as soon as possible so it could be given before the beginning of Ramadan, during which Asian patients may not want to have the injection.

Ms O'Neill said there was a high incidence of diabetes in the Trust's population area and the number of admissions for asthma was also high.

The figures were to be examined more carefully to decide what to do.

The meeting also heard that a ten-year sexual health plan for the Bradford district was being developed.

Other performance indicators discussed included the results of a survey of GPs, the prescribing rate of generic and antibacterial drugs and the rate of surgery for hip and knee replacements.