Guidance

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm screening: Extraction of programme standards data 2026-27

Updated 9 April 2026

Applies to England

Data will be extracted from SMaRT (Screening Management and Referral Tracking database) on the following dates during 2026-27. Please note that following the standards review there have been updates to the standard numbering.

1. Extraction Dates

Q1 (1 April 2026 to 30 June 2026)

  Deadline for updating SMaRT Data Checking Report on SMaRT Deadline for amendments to SMaRT Final Report on SMaRT
Standards 1 to 10 & 12 Fri 14 Aug 2026 Tue 18 Aug 2026 Fri 21 Aug 2026 Tue 25 Aug 2026
Standards 11 & 13 Fri 25 Sep 2026 Tue 29 Sep 2026 Fri 2 oct 2026 Tue 6 Oct 2026

Q2 (1 July 2026 to 30 September 2026)

  Deadline for updating SMaRT Data Checking Report on SMaRT Deadline for amendments to SMaRT Final Report on SMaRT
Standards 1 to 10 & 12 Fri 13 Nov 2026 Tue 17 Nov 2026 Fri 20 Nov 2026 Tue 24 Nov 2026
Standards 11 & 13 Thu 24 Dec 2026 Tue 29 Dec 2026 Thu 31 Dec 2026 Tue 5 Jan 2027

Q3 (1 October 2026 to 31 December 2026)

  Deadline for updating SMaRT Data Checking Report on SMaRT Deadline for amendments to SMaRT Final Report on SMaRT
Standards 1 to 10 & 12 Fri 12 Feb 2027 Tue 16 Feb 2027 Fri 19 Feb 2027 Tue 23 Feb 2027
Standards 11 & 13 Thu 25 Mar 2027 Tue 30 Mar 2027 Fri 2 Apr 2027 Tue 6 Apr 2027

Q4 (1 January 2027 to 31 March 2027) & Annual (1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027)

  Deadline for updating SMaRT Data Checking Report on SMaRT Deadline for amendments to SMaRT Final Report on SMaRT
Standards 1 to 13 Fri 25 Jun 2027 Tue 29 Jun 2027 Fri 2 Jul 2027 Tue 6 Jul 2027

2.Notes

2.1 For 2026-27, the process to extract and collate quarterly and annual AAA programme will continue as per the past few years, where data is only extracted once, and sufficient time has passed so that indicators are complete.

2.2 This will mean that figures for the three programme standards included in the quarterly KPI report (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/nhs-population-screening-programmes-kpi-reports) will be exactly the same as those in the routine quarterly programme standards dataset.

2.3 Similarly, at the end of the financial year, the same extract will be used to produce the quarter four and annual figures.

2.4 For quarters one to three, there will be two separate extraction processes to ensure completeness: standards 1 to 10 and 12 will be extracted six weeks after the end of the quarter; standards 11 and 13 will be extracted twelve weeks after the end of the quarter. Extraction processes are subject to change due to operational reasons.

2.5 For quarter four and the annual dataset, there will be one extraction process.

2.6 This will allow for the additional two months after the end of the financial year to pass to allow for invites, reinvites and screenings that apply to standards 1 to 4.

2.7 The four stages of the extraction process, set out with dates in the table above, are described below:

Deadline for updating SMaRT – Providers should ensure that SMaRT is continuously kept updated with accurate information so that reports run at any point in time are as complete as possible and a true reflection of performance.

This deadline is a reminder to ensure that records are up to date for activity to the end of the quarter. Data on SMaRT are transferred to the reporting database on a weekly basis, overnight from Sunday into Monday. Queries to produce the data checking report are then run on these data on the Tuesday morning. Changes made on the Monday will not be reflected in the data checking report.

Data Checking Report on SMaRT – This is a first run of the programme standards data to check its content. This stage in the process will be kept under review. Providers should use this time to make final changes to SMaRT.

Deadline for amendments to SMaRT – This is the final deadline for updating SMaRT prior to the transfer of data to the reporting database, overnight from Sunday into Monday. Changes made on the Monday will not be reflected in the final report.

Final Report on SMaRT – The final programme standards report for the quarter will be uploaded to SMaRT, as will the waiting times tracker report.

2.8 Data in the quarterly screening standards reports will be provisional, and only contains information that can be extracted from SMaRT.

2.9 The regular quarterly and annual surveillance breach reports should be returned within a week of the production of the final report.

2.10 The exception reports and any other queries should be sent to 

PHE.adultscreeningdata@nhs.net