Imaging Services
Our X-ray department receives most patients from our consultant staff, although a significant number are sent directly by their GPs for a Consultant Radiologist’s opinion. Depending on the examination requested you may have to prepare by taking laxatives or fasting and in these events the Imaging staff will have issued you with clear instructions and with any preparations you may have to take.
On arrival in the department you will be asked to fill in certain forms and in the case of women below the age of 55 you will be asked if you may be pregnant. You will be asked to remove appropriate items of clothing and given a gown and dressing gown to wear. During the examination your clothes and personal effects can be left in the changing cubicle, a key to which you will retain.
Routine X-ray examinations will be carried out by our Senior Radiographers whilst specialist examinations which require intervention or ultrasound will be carried out by a Consultant Radiologist. The only exception is that a Specialist Radiographer will carry out Venous Doppler Ultrasound scans.
CT scans will by and large be carried out in the presence of a Consultant Radiologist whilst MRI scans will be carried out by Senior MRI Radiographers.
After your examination is finished you will be asked to dress and told you may leave. A report on the examination will be given by one of our Consultant Radiologists who will send it to the referring doctor. In the case of GP referrals these are faxed within 24 hours but very often within two or three hours.
The equipment in our Imaging Department is state of the art with a Mammography Room, Digital Fluoroscopy Room, MRI scanner, Bone Densitometer machine for the early detection of osteoporosis, Image Intensifier for use in theatre, and a mobile machine for use in patient's rooms.
What is MRI?
Magnetic Resonance Imaging. A medical imaging technique used for image capture. Tissue area is simultaneously subjected to electromagnetic radiation and a magnetic field. Sample data slices are gathered and later reconstructed into a composite image for further processing and analysis.
What is a CT scan?
Computed Tomography scan (also known as a CAT scan). A computerized x-ray procedure that produces cross-sectional images of the body. The images are far more detailed than x-ray films, and can reveal disease or abnormalities in tissue and bone. The procedure is usually noninvasive and brief.
