Abdominal aortic aneurysm screening programme supporting information
Updated 9 April 2026
Applies to England
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These revised screening standards for the NHS abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) screening programme replace previous versions. They apply for data collected from 1 April 2026 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 is available internally to NHS providers.
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 Two standards have been retired:
AAA-S02: uptake: completeness of the annual surveillance offer
AAA-S03: uptake: completeness of the quarterly surveillance offer
1.2 Standard numbers have been re-allocated as follows
| Standards from 1 April 2022 | Standards from 1 April 2026 |
|---|---|
| AAA-S01: uptake: completeness of the initial screen offer | AAA-S01: initial screen offer |
| AAA-S04: coverage: initial screen | AAA-S02: initial screen coverage |
| AAA-S07: coverage: initial screen in the most deprived 30% of local areas | AAA-S03: initial screen coverage in the most deprived 30% of local areas |
| AAA-S08: uptake: initial screen | AAA-S04: initial screen uptake |
| AAA-S05: coverage: annual surveillance scan | AAA-S05: annual surveillance coverage |
| AAA-S09: uptake: annual surveillance scan | AAA-S06: annual surveillance uptake |
| AAA-S06: coverage: quarterly surveillance scan | AAA-S07: quarterly surveillance coverage |
| AAA-S10: uptake: quarterly surveillance scan | AAA-S08: quarterly surveillance uptake |
| AAA-S11: test: non-visualised initial screens | AAA-S09: visualised initial screens |
| AAA-S12: test: time to internal quality assurance | AAA-S10: time to internal quality assurance |
| AAA-S13: diagnosis / intervention: time to nurse assessment | AAA-S11: time to nurse assessment |
| AAA-S14: diagnosis / intervention: time to first vascular surgeon assessment | AAA-S12: time to first vascular surgeon assessment |
| AAA-S15: diagnosis / intervention: time to vascular surgery | AAA-S13: time to vascular surgery |
| AAA-S02: uptake: completeness of the annual surveillance offer | Retired |
| AAA-S03: uptake: completeness of the quarterly surveillance offer | Retired |
1.3 AAA-S01: initial screen offer
Threshold amended to acceptable level to greater than or equal to 98.0%.
1.4 AAA-S02: initial screen coverage
No change to standard.
A supplementary indicator has been added to show coverage of the initial screen by each IMD decile.
Previously AAA-S02 related to ‘uptake: completeness of the annual surveillance offer’, but this has now been retired.
1.5 AAA-S03: initial screen coverage in the most deprived 30% of local areas
No change to standard.
1.6 AAA-S04: initial screen uptake
Increase acceptable level to greater than or equal to 77.0%.
1.7 AAA-S05: annual surveillance coverage
Threshold amended to acceptable level to greater than or equal to 87.0%.
1.8 AAA-S06: annual surveillance uptake
No change to standard.
1.9 AAA-S07: quarterly surveillance coverage
No change to standard.
1.10 AAA-S08: quarterly surveillance uptake
No change to standard.
1.11 AAA-S09: visualised initial screens
Indicator changed to measure the proportion of visualised screens instead of the proportion on non-visualised screens.
Threshold amended to acceptable level to greater than or equal to 98%.
Achievable threshold retired.
Caveat added to state that ‘services would not be expected to have a visualisation rate of 100% due to individuals with a habitus that prevents a satisfactory image using portable ultrasound equipment.’
1.12 AAA-S10: time to internal quality assurance
Threshold amended to acceptable level to greater than or equal to 80.0%.
1.13 AAA-S11: time to nurse assessment
Threshold amended to acceptable level to greater than or equal to 70.0%.
Threshold amended to achievable level to greater or equal to 85.0%.
1.14 AAA-S12: time to first vascular surgeon assessment
No change to standard.
Data to be presented quarterly rather than cumulatively.
1.15 AAA-S13: time to vascular surgery
No change to standard.
Data to be presented quarterly rather than cumulatively.
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-S02, AAA-S05 and AAA-S07.
2.1 Theme: uptake
Related standards are:
AAA-S01: initial screen offer
AAA-S04: initial screen uptake
AAA-S06: annual surveillance uptake
AAA-S08: quarterly surveillance uptake
2.2 Theme: coverage
Related standards are:
AAA-S02: initial screen coverage
AAA-S03: initial screen coverage in the most deprived 30% of local areas
AAA-S05: annual surveillance coverage
AAA-S07: quarterly surveillance coverage
2.3 Theme: test
Related standards are:
AA-S09: visualised initial screens
AAA-S10: time to internal quality assurance
2.4 Theme: diagnosis/intervention
Related standards are:
AAA-S11: time to nurse assessment
AAA-S12: time to first vascular surgeon assessment
AAA-S13: time to vascular surgery
3. Resources to support providers and commissioners
Additional AAA operational guidance is included in the:
- AAA Screening Programme Guidance
- 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.