• There is no preparation required prior to attending your appointment at Vascular Studies unless attending for SMA stent surveillance where you may be asked to fast prior to the scan for ~6 hours.
• You may be asked to get undressed and remove your shoes and socks for the appointment so we advise you wear something that is easy to take off.
• Please be aware your scan may extend above the level of your symptoms ie. a whole leg scan may be required even if only experiencing calf pain.

• Most ultrasound scans and investigations performed in vascular studies will take approximately 30 minutes. Some scans can take longer than this due to their complexity so please leave at least an hour for your appointment.
• You may be asked to attend another department called Ambulatory Care following your scan for medical review. As this is a walk-in referral service there may be a wait to be seen.

• We have cover 5 days a week from our Healthcare Assistants and Nursing staff. If you begin to feel unwell in the waiting area please notify a member of staff.
• If you are diabetic we recommend you bring a drink and snack with you to your appointment in case of any delay.

There is room in the scanning room for one relative or friend to attend your appointment with you if you would prefer their support. If no-one is able to attend your appointment with you and you wish to have a chaperone please inform one of the team on arrival so that this can be arranged.

• There are no needles or injections required for vascular ultrasound to be performed. Therefore pain and discomfort should be minimal when attending for a scan. You may experience some pressure or discomfort when the scientist is scanning dependent on how deep the blood vessels are.
• You may also experience a feeling of 'tightness' if you are attending for a pressure index test when the blood pressure cuff is applied. This should not be more uncomfortable than having your BP measured at the GP surgery.

• Please refer to the instructions regarding booking hospital transport on the Getting to your appointment page.
• Once your appointment has finished our Reception team will notify the relevant transport provider you are ready for collection. There may be a delay whilst waiting for transport to take you home but our Reception team will keep you updated and our Healthcare Assistants will be able to support you if you have additional needs or requirements.

As we are a teaching hospital a trainee may perform your scan under the supervision of a qualified scientist or they may have reached a stage in their training where they are able to autonomously perform and interpret scans without a qualified member of staff present. Please let us know if you would prefer not to be scanned by a trainee before your investigation begins.

• Here in Vascular Studies we have one nurse and two healthcare assistants up to five days a week to provide any nursing care you may require. They are able to remove any dressings you may have and redress them once your investigations are complete.
• If you have a supply of the dressings your practice/district nursing teams are using at home please bring these with you so that our nurses can use dressings you are used to in line with your wound management plan.
• If at your appointment the medical teams advise you would benefit from compression dressings please contact your GP on returning home to make your local nursing team aware that you will may require more regular dressings/input from them.

• If you attended Vascular Studies for a surveillance ultrasound of your bypass graft or stent and your symptoms have returned on the same leg including; leg pain at rest, numbness, sudden onset of cold foot or leg cramp when walking, please contact us directly on 01225 824440 / 824441 to discuss with a Vascular Scientist. We may offer you an on the day/urgent ultrasound scan or we may discuss your symptoms with a Vascular consultant for further advice.
• We do not offer a follow up service for patients attending for DVT scans unless requested by your GP or the Anticoagulation team. Therefore if your symptoms have returned since your recent scan please contact your GP to discuss this further and arrange any necessary investigations.

The results of all investigations will always be sent back to the referring medical team and will be discussed with you on the day of your scan. Dependent on the nature of your results:

• You may be asked to attend Ambulatory Care for urgent medical review before going home.
• You may be able to go home after your appointment but may be asked to contact your GP on the day to determine the need for any further management.
• You may be due to see a vascular consultant on the same day via a one stop service.
• Your appointment at vascular studies may be part of a series of investigations you are undergoing that day and will be discussed with the referring doctors.
• Your results may be discussed with the vascular team and you will be contacted with the outcome of this discussion.
• You may be attending for routine surveillance and vascular studies will contact you to schedule a future appointment.