Abdominal aortic aneurysm screening programme supporting information
Updated 17 February 2022
Applies to England
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/aaa-screening-quality-standards-and-service-objectives/abdominal-aortic-aneurysm-screening-programme-supporting-information
These revised screening standards for the NHS abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) screening programme replace previous versions. They apply for data collected from 1 April 2020 unless stated otherwise in the document.
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) recommends men registered with a GP in England are invited for ultrasound screening during the year they turn 65 while men over 65 who have not previously been screened can self-refer. Men who have had previous AAA surgery are not eligible for screening.
NHS AAA screening programme has responsibility for implementing this policy. The programme service specification for NHS providers is available as part of the public health functions exercised by NHS England.
Screening guidance documents on GOV.UK (including this one) may link to a glossary of screening terms, ‘NHS population screening explained’ and NHS UK for definitions of terms. To see the meaning of an acronym, hover over it with your cursor to see the full definition.
1. Summary of changes from previous version of standards
1.1 AAA-S14 diagnosis / intervention: time to first vascular surgeon assessment
Amended to include men with an aorta greater than or equal to 4.0cm that has grown 1cm or more in 1 year referred to a vascular service.
1.2 AAA-S15 diagnosis / intervention: time to vascular surgery
Amended to include men with an aorta greater than or equal to 4.0cm that has grown 1cm or more in 1 year referred to a vascular service.
2. Pathway themes
NHS AAA screening standards look at 4 themes to assess the pathway and 3 key performance indicators (KPIs) are derived from AAA-S04, AAA-S05 and AAA-S06.
2.1 Theme: uptake
Related standards are:
AAA-S01: uptake: completeness of the initial screen offer
AAA-S02: uptake: completeness of the annual surveillance offer
AAA-S03: uptake: completeness of the quarterly surveillance offer
AAA-S08: uptake: initial screen
AAA-S09: uptake: annual surveillance scan
AAA-S10: uptake: quarterly surveillance scan
2.2 Theme: coverage
Related standards are:
AAA-S04: coverage: initial screen
AAA-S05: coverage: annual surveillance scan
AAA-S06: coverage: quarterly surveillance scan
AAA-S07: coverage: initial screen in the most deprived 30% of local areas
2.3 Theme: test
Related standards are:
AAA-S11: test: non-visualised initial screens
AAA-S12: test: time to internal quality assurance
2.4 Theme: diagnosis/intervention
Related standards are:
AAA-S13: diagnosis/intervention: time to nurse assessment
AAA-S14: diagnosis/intervention: time to first vascular surgeon assessment
AAA-S15: diagnosis/intervention: time to vascular surgery
3. Resources to support providers and commissioners
Additional AAA operational guidance is included in the:
- service specifications
- standard operating procedures
- KPI and standards data submission guidance
- standard validation guidance
- waiting times guidance
4. Reporting and publishing standards
We publish annual standards reports (see the ‘data and standards section’), and quarterly KPI data. We share the data with NHS England before publication.
The data to support the AAA screening standards is collected through the national Screening Management and Referral Tracking (SMaRT) database and IT system. Local providers enter operational data daily and this information is used to calculate the standards. Providers receive quarterly updates on their progress against the standards, which they can validate and sign off. Information relating to surgery is obtained from data entered by the programme and a direct data feed from the national vascular registry into SMaRT.