Betsi move some vascular surgeries to England after ‘incident’

Vascular services diagnose and treat people for problems with arteries, veins or circulation, and are often used by patients who have other health issues, such as diabetes.

An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a swelling in the aorta, the main artery carrying blood from the heart to the rest of the body.

It can be life-threatening if not found early.

Carol Shillabeer, chief executive, said the health board worked closely with vascular experts in Wales and the across the UK to reach its decision.

She said patients awaiting this surgery would be able to have it carried out at the Royal Stoke University Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent “in the short term”.

“Our collaboration with Stoke is long-standing and this builds on the strong partnership approach in place,” she said.

“We will always be transparent about the challenges of providing this very specialist element of vascular services to the north Wales population and this pause forms part of ongoing reviews to continue delivering safe services.”