The team will be delivering the clinic on board the health bus and appointments must be booked prior to the day by calling 01709 649100. Screening is completely painless and non-invasive. Results are given straight away, meaning you can pop in, be seen and enjoy the rest of your day.
Men receive an invite to attend this free NHS screening the year they turn 65. An Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm is a weakening in the wall of the aorta that causes bulging and over time, the aorta can weaken and expand and is at risk of bursting which can cause life threatening bleeding and could be potentially fatal. The condition often causes few or no obvious symptoms. They occur most frequently in men over the age of 65, and in England and Wales there are around 3000 deaths each year from ruptured AAAs.
Babatunde Fakolade, South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw AAA Screening Programme Manager, said: “This simple five minute ultrasound scan of the abdomen can save lives. Men are given the results there and then, if no aneurysm is found they are discharged from the service and do not need to be screened again. Men over 65 who have not yet been screened can self-refer to the programme on 01709 649100.”
The last time the team delivered a clinic at Tesco was in September 2018 and a local gentleman, Graham White, attended the clinic, feeling fit and well and was found to have a large aneurysm. Graham takes up the story: “I’d never heard of AAA before the clinic was advertised in the local newspaper, it fills me with dread thinking I was walking around with a large aneurysm which could have been a ticking time bomb. Looking back now I had felt a pulsating feeling in my tummy which could have been the aneurysm but I thought nothing of it, I feel very lucky.”
If you are, or a member of your family is male over the age of 65, please call the team and book an appointment. For more info visit our website: http://aaa.dbh.nhs.uk/