How much is private MRI?

[HerosAreUs]

Hi all

Just that really..

My son has developmental delay. He is 4 and a half but developmental age is 0-11months from his recent EHCP assessment. Drs think he has a genetic condition but not sure what. He's had genetic tests done for downs syndrome etc but all came back negative. The docs have requested more tests. He also has mobility issues and muscular fatigue and tremmors. We want him to have an MRI. 1. To see if there are any abnormalities with his brain causing his delays and 2. To check for any muscle or nerve issues causing the mobility problems.
His Dr says he wants to wait for the bloods to come back before doing an MRI but we want one done ASAP as we are very worried about him.
As he is a child he would need to be asleep through the MRI which I know adds to the cost but does anyone know how much a private full body MRI would be for a child?
Thanks!!

Sorry to hear this OP. How worrying for you.

I once wanted to have a private scan and found most of them required a referral from a consultant/gp although in my notes I have this site who don't - uk.scan.com They have some costs and some faqs saying they have sites who will scan children.

Don't remember how much i'd researched them mind you so definately check they are reputable (i know you will)

Good luck xx

I obviously don’t know anything about your situation, although I’m sorry to hear it, or anything about MRI’s for children. I can tell you that recently I had an MRI of my foot and they charged my insurance £480 if that helps at all.

I'm sorry to read that. It sounds quite scary and I completely understand your feeling of urgency. I'm sure you can get the blood tests done while deciding on or waiting for MRI appointment.
We paid £400 for just a head scan last month, no sedation or contrast, plus paid extra for the private consultations. It was a few weeks wait and apparently they were running MRIs til midnight to cope with waiting lists. It wasnt a decision we took lightly (even if ignoring the cost) but has given some peace of mind as nothing really really scary found, but still area of concern. The next stage followups have been put through the NHS and private to see what the time scales are. Check you can dip back into NHS care later if needed, or would need to stay on private track.

I used a company called Vista health. Cost £350 for scan and report, then an extra optional £40 to have a 20 minute video consultation with a GP, who translated it into something understandable.

Thanks all. I emailed his consultant this afternoon asking if we could be referred for private MRI and then go back to discuss results through NHS. I'm not sure if this would be possible but thats what we are hoping to do if it's possible and we can afford it.
The blood results can take a year to come back so we really don't want to wait a year for his results and then be put onto the waiting list for an MRI. We'll probably be talking 2 years later by this point...

My DH had an mri scan on a sports injury last year. The local private hospital was going to be £800 (we don't have medical insurance) He got an "off peak" mri at a private London hospital on a Saturday evening, I think it was £250

My son had a brain mri last year privately to rule out neurological issues. He is older so managed it awake. Cost charged to my insurer for the mri was £700. But as pp mentioned we also had to see a paediatrician privately to refer for the mri and interpret results. This was around £300 for first appointment and £200 for follow up. All in London.

I’d ask to have a chat again with them about why they don’t want to do it- it may be that they think it’s very unlikely to show anything useful, and you have to put your dc through an anaesthetic. A alternative approach is to pay a paediatric neurologist for a private appt for a second opinion, and see what tests they recommend. Good luck, sounds very stressful.

Just out of curiosity, what bloods take a year to come back ?

About £800

I had one for my DD six years ago and it was £650 for a head and cervical scan and consultation with the private doctor. No anesthesia which will cost more. We did have a referral from her GP.

I'm an ex radiographer, if your child needs a GA then I would have it via the NHS or at least in an NHS hospital , it is a very complicated process. Most places that offer private scans wouldn't have the facilities to offer GA. It will be expensive to go private because you will be paying for the anaesthetist, recovery nurses as well as the scan .
You are able to self refer for an MRI as there is no radiation involved, CT scans require a doctors referral.

@notatinydancer detailed genetics.

GA MRI is pretty niche even in the NHS due to the equipment needed to safely provide GA in the scanner. Pretty sure most private places won't have the facilities, but if you do find anywhere, the cost of the paed anaesthetist/ward bed etc would need factoring in and I'm pretty sure that anaesthetists don't usually have admitting rights so you'd need a paediatrician/neurologist to be their named consultant. The decision making has to include balancing the risks of exposing a child to GA vs the chances of finding/excluding any conditions with the scan and that's what's probably influencing the current consultant's advice. (DOI fwiw: anaesthetist)

Who is going to decide on the type of MRI and interpret it for you?

My son had a head MRI when he was about four and they sedated him rather than GAed him. Are you sure your son would need a GA? (You know him best of course.)

We were offered GA MRI at the Portland hospital London so they at least do have the facilities. Never needed the GA in the end though so I don’t know what it would cost. I think I recall them telling me they did it once a month.

I know our local hospital does offer GA MRI on NHS and also Bupa. I have emailed his consultant to see what our options are. I've also asked why they want to wait to do MRI. I'm guessing it's to do with costs. They may get the answers from blood samples but My son has very complex needs and an MRI will no doubt answer a lot of our questions a lot faster. He is adopted and his birth Mum has a condition that can be inherited and our son is displaying the same classic symptoms. We want him diagnoses ASAP so he can receive the right treatment and medication should he have the same condition as his birth Mum.

@HerosAreUs I assume your medical team are aware of his birth mother's condition? Are they specialists in the same area or general paediatricians?

an MRI will no doubt answer a lot of our questions a lot faster

Do you know that from your extensive research, or are you just thinking that it will? What's the condition? The things you talk about in your first post will not all get answers from an MRI.....

OP I’ve been in a not dissimilar situation and I feel for you. Frustratingly it’s not always straightforward to mix NHS and private care and even those at the very top of their fields aren’t always very aware of what’s available where.

Where in the country are you based? My experience is limited to London. If you’re anywhere close by, my first suggestion would be that you try calling the numbers listed in the link below and hopefully they can tell you more.

When I was looking for a pediatric neurologist for my son two years ago, it was very difficult to get an appointment privately as they were booked up for months. Our GOSH actually came through before we got anywhere with either Portland or Harley Street.

www.londonpaediatricimaging.co.uk/availability

@NW3Lady thank you so much! We are about an hour away from London so this is very helpful.

And @reesespieces123 and @Ridingthespringwave yes the condition his mum has that we suspect our son also has can be diagnosed through bloods and MRI. The bloods take up to a year to come back so MRI would be a much faster option. He is under specialist neurology team who are aware of his family history. Why does any of this matter? All I've asked for is if anyone has been through similar and knows how much it may cost.

if you're already at a hospital that does paediatric GA MR then have you tried just phoning them and asking what the costs are? It would still be a clinical decision so you would need clinicians who feel that it's an appropriate thing to put him through (it's not like adult MR where anyone can just request the test they want), but they should be able to give a ball park figure.

I only asked, as someone who has had a child with a rare disease, that sometimes you can end up being treated for too long by a general paed who might not fully understand a condition, and in that case an onwards referral to a tertiary specialist might have helped in terms of accessing the MRI. It wasn't intended as a challenging question, apologies if it felt like that. Even though you have specialist neurologists, it may be worth requesting a second opinion on the MRI decision in any case?

It matters because you don't just need 'an mri'. You need a professional to request the specific type of scan and interoret it i.e. a private consultant