New Life-saving Scans Introduced

Sonographers have begun a new male screening programme which could save lives. Heather McLeod is pictured at Stirling Community Hospital with Clifford Deans from Doune, the first Forth Valley patient to be checked for an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm. Mr Deans described the process as “painless and very easy.”

Mr Deans, a retired finance director, said he ‘felt a glow’ knowing that nothing was wrong.

Weekly AAA screening clinics for men aged 65 are now being held in community hospitals in Stirling, Falkirk and Clackmannanshire and around 1400 men across the area are expected to attend over the next year.

The ultrasound scan takes just 10 minutes and results are available instantly. Around 95% of men are expected to have a normal scan and will exit the screening programme. Further information about the new AAA national screening programme can be found at www.nhsinform.co.uk/screening/aaa