We have published the NHS Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) Screening Programme data for 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020. This is the first time we’ve published the report in accessible HTML format. This means it can be read and used by as many people as possible.
Please note, you can now switch between chart and table format for some figures by clicking on the ‘change to table and accessible view’ button directly below the figure title.
About the report
This is our sixth year of publishing annual data. This report covers the 12 screening standards for men turning 65 between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2020, along with outcomes such as the number of aneurysms detected from screening. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on invitations, screens and surgery is discussed within the report.
Headlines
There were 291,904 men eligible for their initial AAA screen between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2020. Of these men, 76.1% were screened by 31 March 2020 and 0.92% had an aneurysm. There were 8,340 men aged over 65 who self-referred into the programme and 88.9% were screened by 31 March 2020. The aneurysm detection rate in self-referred men was higher than cohort men, at 3.8%.
Other headlines
Some further headline figures include:
- 14,995 men were on surveillance at the beginning of the year
- 12,873 annual surveillance appointments were due during the screening year
- 10,520 quarterly surveillance appointments were during the screening year
- 90.8% of the annual surveillance appointments due had a conclusive test within 6 weeks of the due date
- 91.7% of the quarterly surveillance appointments due had a conclusive test result within 4 weeks of the due date
- following surveillance scanning, 698 men were referred from surveillance into surgery
- 875 men were referred for surgery
- of the men who were referred for surgery, 1.9% were found to have an aorta <5.5cm on confirmatory CT or MRI scan
Nationally, there were:
- 858 men appropriately referred
- 124 of these men unsuitable for surgery
- 41 of these men who declined surgery
Of the men who were appropriately referred, did not decline and were suitable for surgery:
- 43.3% were operated on within 8 weeks
- 84.7% were operated on in total
Nationally, just over half of the surgical interventions were open repairs but there was significant variation across the country (range 0% to 100%). The 30-day mortality rate after surgery was 1.87%.
Thank you
The report is a testament to the hard work of everyone involved in the screening programme at both local and regional levels. We would like to thank all those involved in collecting and collating the data, producing the report, and most of all those from the NHS who deliver the screening services.
PHE Screening blog
The PHE Screening blog provides up to date news from all NHS screening programmes. You can register to receive updates direct to your inbox, so there’s no need to keep checking for new blogs. If you have any questions about this blog article, or about population screening in England, please contact the PHE screening helpdesk.