I had my MRI today (brain and neck), about 30 minutes into the scan the radiographer brought me out and said…‘The scanners playing up, it may be broken’ and preceeded to put me back in. Well you can imagine how I felt…I hate these things to start with but there I was for 10 minutes nothing happening, thinking I was stuck in there… he brought me out again and said ‘we need to switch off and start it up again’…so off to the waiting room in my gown sat with 2 blokes , If it wasn’t so frustrating it could have been funny… so back in again for another 10 minutes and done… I thought going on a Sunday might be less stressful…that’ll teach me .
I asked for a copy of the report and was told that I had to request it from the consultant who ordered the scan, and that I wouldn’t be able to have a copy until he had talked it through with me, is this right? Also, is it possible to request copies of radiographer reports for a scan done ~ 4 years ago?
Sorry it was a less than satisfactory experience! (Unless the two blokes were also in gowns and were young, fit and handsome?!)
Scanners don’t “break” and they certainly don’t get switched on and off - it costs tens of thousands of pounds to refill the liquid helium! Sounds like the computer was playing up though - well that or the radiographer was! Let’s hope that she/he was just saying it was the scanner for simplicity’s sake, otherwise I would seriously wonder about the training in the NHS!!!
She isn’t correct that you have to wait for the consultant. You have a legal right to see anything that is in your medical file - and that includes MRI scans. What they can do is make it hard for you though - filling in forms, sending off money and waiting for approval and speaking to admin people etc. If they have it, they have to provide a copy - so it is worth asking about the 4 year old data if you want to see it.
Thanks Karen. I’ll apply for the old ones and give them a couple of weeks and chase up this one.
By the way the blokes weren’t fit (so disappointed… Lol), one of them was really funny though… well you have to laugh don’t you…sat there in nothing but your pants, socks and an opened backed gown…one of the blokes had red trainers…bit like a Benny Hill script…