AAA screening is offered to men during the screening year (1 April to 31 March) when they turn 65.

In England, around four per cent of men aged between 65 and 74 years have AAA (approx. 80,000 men). This results in around 6,000 deaths per year. There are generally no symptoms.

Risk factors for AAA include:

• male
• 65 years and over
• smoking
• hypertension

AAA screening is a simple, painless procedure carried out in one of 39 local venues across Kent by trained technicians. The result is available immediately.

If an aneurysm is detected, depending on the size, either surveillance by further scans or referral to a vascular specialist to discuss treatment options will be offered.

Any patients registered as female but assigned male at birth (trans women and non-binary), will not be invited for AAA screening, but are eligible - contact the service to arrange an appointment.

Any men registered at the practice who are in this age group and have specific needs, including being housebound or have learning difficulties, please do let us know and we can contact the service on your behalf.

The team welcome self-referrals from men who are aged over 65 and who haven’t previously been screened as part of the AAA Screening programme.

More information can be found by visiting the national programme website at: www.nhs.uk/aaa or by contacting the Kent and Medway AAA Screening Office on:

01227 868775 or ekhuft.aaascreening@nhs.net

Bowel cancer screening

To request a replacement bowel screening kit or for any queries regarding the bowel screening programme, contact the bowel screening free helpline on 0800 707 60 60.

People older than 74 can request a screening kit every two years by also calling the free helpline.

Breast screening (mammogram)

If you have missed your breast screening appointment, you can contact your local breast screening unit to schedule an appointment.

• Canterbury breast screening unit – ekh-tr.breastscreening@nhs.net / 01227 783000
• Maidstone breast screening unit – mtw-tr.bsu@nhs.net / 01622 710185
• Medway breast screening unit - met-tr.medwaybreastscreening@nhs.net / 01634 825036.

Cervical screening