16 January 2018

A screening service provided by SaTH has passed its first ever Quality Assurance with flying colours.

The Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) Screening Programme for Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin, is based at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH).  Public Health England carried out the Quality Assurance of the screening service and found it to be “well organised” and “patient centred” with all key performance indicators being met.

The AAA Screening Team – L-R are Jodie Joyner, Rhian Baker and Jessica Smith

An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a swelling in the aorta – the main blood vessel that runs from the heart down through the chest – and can be dangerous if not detected early enough. It can get bigger over time and could burst, causing life-threatening bleeding. Men aged over 65 are at the most risk of AAAs, which is why they are invited to screening.

In Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin, screening is delivered by SaTH’s technicians in community settings such as GP practices, clinics and at both the RSH and Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford. A simple ultrasound test is performed to detect AAA, which is quick, painless and non-invasive – and the results are provided straight away.

The Quality Assurance report also said: “The workforce is committed and motivated” and added that: “No immediate or high priority concerns were identified by the visiting team”.

Jessica Smith, SaTH’s AAA Programme Co-ordinator, said: “We are absolutely delighted with the findings which show that we are running a very high quality service. This is the first Quality Assurance visit that we have had in the five years that we have been running. ”

Mr Tim Sykes, Vascular Consultant for SaTH, added: “This report clearly highlights that the Shropshire AAA screening service has a dedicated, hardworking team that is able to offer screening in over 60 centres across the county. It is very pleasing to see that this excellent achievement has been recognised and praised in the QA report.”