OBJECTIVES: The organisation of vascular services in the NHS is currently in a state of flux, with various options for reorganisation being considered. The aim of the proposed research is to elicit preferences from members of the public for: (1) treatment processes, as they have the option to undergo either keyhole surgery or open surgery for the repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms and (2) travelling distances for treatment.

METHODS: Telephone interviews were conducted with members of the public without a significant vascular condition. These participants were recruited from 15 different NHS Trusts in the UK. The interview involved participants being asked to trade-off the chance of a vascular treatment being successful against how far they would be willing to travel for treatment.

RESULTS: The study included 202 participants (median age 55y; 68% female). Of these, 165 (81.7%) preferred the keyhole surgery, 36 (17.8%) preferred the open surgery and one person had no preference. When participants were told that they would have to travel to a specialist hospital that is up to 60 miles further away, 41 people refused to travel even if the chance of success for treatment was higher at the specialist hospital. In contrast, 163 people were willing to travel to the specialist hospital, even when they were told that the chance of success was no different to their local hospital. The remaining participants were willing to travel to the specialist hospital contingent upon a 3% increase in chance of treatment success.

CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that participants preferred the keyhole surgery because of the less invasive nature of the procedure (i.e. less time in hospital, less pain and quicker recovery). Moreover, we found that the vast majority of people are willing to travel to access specialist services.