GP X-ray to resume 100% capacity
The refurbishment of the GP X-ray department is nearing completion, with the reopening of our second X-ray room expected by 8 April 2024. This newly refurbished X-ray facility will comprise of state of the art technology with advanced functionalities that will enable high quality diagnostic imaging, which will contribute to faster and more accurate results, and therefore better patient experience.
Having two X-ray rooms now available will also allow for our walk-in service to be re-instated during this time. This service is exclusively for our community patients that have been triaged and clinically prioritised by GPs.
Opening times:
- The GP X-ray walk-in service for clinically urgent referrals will be open between 09:00 – 11:00 (Monday – Friday).
- Appointments for other priority referrals will automatically be allocated by our scheduling team between the operating hours 09:00 – 16:30 (Monday – Friday).
Important information for GPs
Please note that the limited GP x-ray walk-in service will be prioritised for patients that are referred for querying of cancer or fractures.
In response to patient feedback the GP x-ray service will continue to also offer pre-booked appointments. Therefore, these referrals received from GPs will need to be “vetted” prior to providing a patient’s appointment date. This process will ensure that the clinical information given by referrers meet the updated national radiology referral guidelines. We understand that our patient’s time is valuable, and this vetting step is pivotal to ensure that we provide an efficient service to those in the community. We aim to contact patients within approximately one week of the referral reaching our department and scheduling appointments within four weeks.
Under the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations (IR[ME]R) 2017), radiographers, as practitioners, have a statutory duty to justify x-ray requests. Please refer to iRefer ( www.irefer.org.uk ), owned and operated by The Royal College of Radiologists (RCR), to ensure that X-ray requests meet the referral guidelines.
Please note that if an X-ray referral is rejected by our department because the clinical information provided does not meet the RCR referral guidelines, our department will notify the referring GP practice via email.