A CARDIOVASCULAR screening programme in Blackburn with Darwen has checked more than double the national average number of patients.

But NHS East Lancashire has failed to meet the national average for the screens, carried out to identify those at risk of cardiovascular illnesses, such as heart attacks and strokes.

Overall the Government's flagship programme is assessing far fewer patients than expected, at an average cost of nearly £70 per patient.

A Freedom of Information request made by the medical magazine Pulse has revealed that on average, trusts have performed slightly more than 6,000 screens each.

At a cost of just over £400,000, this equates to an average of £68 each.

Some of the 25 trusts are screening fewer than 100 patients a month, with the cost per assessment at one trust as high as £720 per patient.

But NHS Blackburn with Darwen has carried out 12,503 screens in eight months, at a cost of just £220,000, which equates to £17.60 per screen.

NHS East Lancashire did not respond to Pulse, but it told the Lancashire Telegraph it had carried out more than 5,000 assessments up to April 2009 with its GP-led service.

It said its GPs were offered £15 per vascular screening, with additional support costs, a total cost of more than £75,000.

A spokesman said: “NHS East Lancashire has recruited additional staff to support its screening programme and is working on plans to increase numbers, despite additional pressures on GPs recently, including the issue of swine flu in the community.”

Dr Malcolm Ridgway, medical director at NHS Blackburn with Darwen, said it already had a GP-led scheme in place before the Government introduced its guidelines.

He said its “considerable investment in the area of vascular risk assessments” had made it a “a recognised leader in the field nationally”.

He said: “Not only are we doing more checks than most other areas but our check is one of the most comprehensive, ensuring we not only pick up people who are at risk of heart disease and stroke but also high blood pressure, diabetes and an irregular heart beat."

The Department of Health predicted total ‘transitional costs’ of £9million plus £31million annual costs when it launched the scheme last year.

But it is estimated the scheme has cost £60 million so far.