THE Royal Bolton has been listed as one the trusts ignoring safety guidelines for a complex surgical procedure, health care analysts have warned.

Data specialists Dr Foster says 21 NHS Trusts — including Bolton NHS Foundation Trust — are performing abdominal aortic aneurysm repairs, even though they carry out too few operations to meet clinical standards.

Experts recommend hospitals carry out a minimum number of highly technical operations to ensure surgeons’ skills are up to date.

An abdominal aortic aneurysm is a potentially life-threatening weakening in the wall of the major artery.

Hospital chiefs at the Royal Bolton have admitted they do not carry out enough aneurysms and they are working on a plan to carry out the procedure with trusts in Lanca-shire.

A spokesman for the Bolton NHS Foundation Trust said: “In common with other trusts in the North West, Bolton NHS trust recognises that demand for AAA surgery is below the suggested threshold.

“To address this we have been working with other trusts to provide this service through the Cumbria and Lancashire Vascular Network.

“This proposed network will build on the work we already do and will see complex vascular surgery carried out in future at a specialist Arterial Centre at the Royal Preston Hospital or the Royal Blackburn Hospital.”

The Vascular Society recommends that, over a three-year period, each trust which performs aneurysm repairs should conduct at least 100 operations to maintain appropriate levels of skill.

But Dr Foster found the 21 trusts had performed less than 100 of these procedures over the last three years and was exposing patients to risk.

Roger Taylor, director of research at Dr Foster, said: “These figures come in the light of recommendations from NHS England that acute emergency services need to be concentrated in specialised centres.

“Vascular surgery is one example of how this is happening across the NHS.”

Su Long, chief officer at Bolton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), which allocates funding for services at the Bolton trust, added: “We are aware that the number of abdominal aortic aneurysm procedures performed at Bolton is lower than recommended.

“The CCG is working with the foundation trust to address this.

“There is a plan being worked through across Lancashire to develop centres of excellence and ensure that quality and safety standards are met.”