Urgent MRI - wait time

[Frazzled2108]

I have been referred by my GP for an urgent head MRI. It's now been 4 weeks and I haven't heard anything.

Has anyone else been referred for this and if so, how long did you have to wait for your scan?

My friend was on the waiting list to see the consultant to see if she could have one and that was a 39 week wait let alone then been authorised to have one. And it was urgent. I'd ring the hospital to see what the lie of the land is.

Depends on hospital and the reason for the mri. Also mri will be vetted so just because gp puts urgent it the radiologist doesn’t think urgent will be downgraded to routine.

I was referred last Tuesday for mri as urgent. Received an appointment this morning for 20th Feb.

How did u guys get on ?

It depends on many things, where in the country you are, what the scan is for - just because the GP says urgent the requests are vetted and the radiologist will decide.

You could always call your local hospital on Monday and ask for an update, no harm in that. You could also say you will attend any cancellation appointment.

Could you go private? A head MRI in my area is £200, seen within days.

At this point I’d chase it up with your GP. As others have said, the referral itself will be triaged by the service that received it and they will then prioritise as they see fit. If your GP failed to communicate why they think it’s urgent they may need to complete another one or if they did then there’s not much they can do.

depending on your location they might be prepared to refer to a neighbouring area if their wait times are shorter.

Sorry, I did mean to add (ironically one of the reasons I had an MRI at all!) - I had an urgent head MRI at the start of the summer and it happened within two weeks. It also fitted under the two week wait rule though, even though neither the GP or myself thought is was going to be anything cancer related but did share some red flags.

@Cornettoninja @DottyMacaroon @coffeestrongblacknosugar this is an old thread! Hopefully op has had their mri since. I got one in June on nhs via a contract with a local private hospital within 10 days.

@LIZS - thank you! I didn’t spot that at all!

Hope everything worked out for you @Frazzled2108

I recommend vista health
Ive just used them 4 urgent private liver MRI

sorry, also didnt spot the date!