Edinburgh tourist credits night at the bingo for life saving diagnosis

An Edinburgh tourist’s life was turned upside down during a trip to the Bingo when a scan revealed he had a life-threatening lung condition.

Paul Nightingale had attended Mecca Bingo in his native Oldbury where he received a NHS lung check in the car.

After travelling to the Scottish capital, the 62-year-old received a text telling him he had an urgent appointment at his local Sandwell Hospital, Birmingham Live reports.

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When he arrived doctors told him they had found a 9cm abdominal aortic aneurysm and he needed to undergo urgent surgery.

Two weeks later, Paul underwent a five-hour abdominal aortic aneurysm open-repair surgery at Hospital in Birmingham. He spent five days recovering and was discharged just in time for his son Clay’s 21st birthday.

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Paul, who lives with his child Clay and wife Heather, said: "A trip to the bingo basically saved my life. I’d gone along to check-up which only took around 30 minutes, and was told it would take three to four weeks to receive the result.

"So I carried on with my usual activities, including my job which involved transporting cars from around the country back to Sandwell. Four days after the scan, I’d flown to Edinburgh to fetch a car from auction. I’d just got off the plane and turned my phone back on, and a text came in saying I had an appointment at Sandwell Hospital’s vascular surgery department."

Paul had gone to the check-up as part of a new NHS initiative aimed at detecting any early-stage signs of cancer. He continued: "When I went to the appointment, they told me they’d had something back from the lung health check, showing I had an abdominal aortic aneurysm, estimated to be 5cm in size.

"They did a further ultrasound scan that day and found that it was in fact 9cm and quite critical. I was shocked as I was in no pain but in hindsight, the only symptom I had was a pulse in my stomach that I could feel when I was lying down." He added: "If you’ve had a message from your GP, for God’s sake go. Sandwell’s lung health check saved my life, and it could save yours too."

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Targeted Lung Health Checks (TLHC) are a national drive to screen current and ex-smokers aged between 55 and 74 for any signs of lung problems. It was rolled out in Sandwell earlier this year and aims to scan all eligible residents by the end of next year.

Steve Nelson, TLHC programme manager at Sandwell MHS trust added: "The lung health check programme aims to detect lung cancer early, however, as in this case, it may detect other conditions requiring treatment. The service is delivered at a community-based location with the support of local businesses, who provide free parking for patients, making appointments easy and convenient to attend."