Good start Gordon but we need resources

The Forum have welcomed prime minister Gordon Brown's announcements on the health service, particularly the plans for for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) screening but are calling for more detail on resourcing and a timetable.

Ian Banks, president of the Men's Health Forum, said: 'This should be good news for men's health but, as the Men's Health Forum has consistently called for, the government needs to announce the timetable for introducing abdominal aortic aneurysm screening and the details of resources to make it work.

'Abdominal aortic aneurysms kill around 3000 men each year in the UK, more than bowel cancer, and this will be much more preventable with a simple, cheap, one off ultrasound scan. One of the issues raised is the increased workload on vascular surgeons for AAA repair.

'The MHF has been campaigning for this screen for a number of years yet most men are not even aware of this problem. Most men think AAA stands for Amateur Athletic Association.' Gordon Brown and Alan Johnson are two men who are AAA aware. After this promising first step, it remains to be seen what exactly they're going to do about it.

• Read the PM's speech in full.