you expect a gp to be able to do x-ray and mri?! You got a very fancy gp!
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NHS=Negligent Health Service
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Soldato
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If it's anything like the hospital I work at then wheelchairs are as rare as unicorn eggs at certain times of the day. Us porters regularly spend 15-20 mins trying to locate a wheelchair for a patient transfer. And it's mainly down to visitors being lazy ***** and just leaving them all over the carparks rather than putting them back into the designated areas/bays. Oh and then there's ambulance crews who regularly steal our chairs because they can't be arsed to get the ones they carry in the back of the bus out.
Soldato
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You do know that you have to be a qualified radiographer to perform said scans, right? Even if a GP surgery had it's own portable X-Ray machine, there would need to be a qualified radiographer on staff to use it. And an MRI is about as far removed from a 'basic test' as you can get.
I think he means organise an X-ray or mri, not physically perform the scan. I would expect any GP to be able to organise an X-ray. An MRI is not always as hugely helpful as people might think however depending on the story, but MRI might not be available to GPs in many areas, or only some MRI, or very strict criteria of when allowed.
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My GP sent me for X-Ray and MRI two weeks ago on my knee and foot and I could have gone to at least 6 different places for them locally..
I walked straight into Longton Cottage Hospital and 30 minutes later I was out.
About a week later the X-Ray reports were sent to my Patients Access App and I'm now waiting for my GP appointment to go over the X-Rays.
The GP sets the X-Ray up on their PC, you walk into any one of the (at least) six places on the sheet, say your name and it's already logged.
You then wait for the professionals to make the report and I was quite surprised I went on Dec 22 and the reports were sent to me on Dec 27.
In my job I sometimes have to request the Radiographers to hurry up for the evidence
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Caporegime
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Xrays are reported by a radiologist/reporting radiographer as a quick glance is OK for gross findings (like a fracture - but even that can be hard) but experience is needed for full interpretation.
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The ability to requests MRI vary from one area to another. E.g. here I can only request an MRI for certain conditions or if pre-approved by a radiologist after a basic scan/xray. Otherwise it's completely blocked on the requesting platform. Mostly for MRI especially musculoskeletal issues you have to refer to secondary care and even then they may not request it after their own assessment of a problem.
Post code lottery really. In my Borough IVF is not offered via NHS. Live a mile East or West in another Borough you can get 2 cycles free on the NHS.
Post code lottery really. In my Borough IVF is not offered via NHS. Live a mile East or West in another Borough you can get 2 cycles free on the NHS.
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Man of Honour
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I have access to the Sectra system and use it every working day.
I can see X-rays being added in real time.
However a GP or Consultant can't make that final call on an X-ray and because of people in my job, they won't make that call, it has to be reported by a Radiographer and sometimes I have to request them to hurry up with certain patients.
I'll also add, especially in A&E, misdiagnosis of X-Rays by staff other than Radiographers is a very common cause of Clinical Negligence.
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Call them a radiographer to their face, I dare you. When they chase you though just turn on the lights in the room to full, or open a blind. They are frightened by natural or bright lighting
Soldato
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Agree. We're quite lucky in that we have the ability to request an MRI for quite a variety of preapproved things but can also put in specific requests freehand as it were. What I think is important, that patients sometimes don't appreciate, is that an MRI isn't going to change the primary care management plan the vast majority of the time. I'm forever reviewing totally unnecessary MRI knees, necks and lower backs that colleagues have requested for simple pains that I don't think are indicated. I tend to leave all musculoskeletal MRIs to secondary care unless it will alter how I manage the patient.
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What are their preferred pronouns?
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Does this not depend on the specialty? A consultant sent me for x-rays and they were on his PC when I was back at his office 15 minutes later. An MRI the other week the radiographer said something like "that's all done then these'll be sent to your consultant.
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If you've trained in reporting Xrays then you can do it for your speciality so yes.
Just to add to that and to prove you right, when I walk out of my office and down the stairs I face the Neurosurgeons office with 4 of them in and they always have X-Rays on their screens.
There used to be 4x Spinal Orthopaedic Surgeons in there and they also had X-Rays on the screen all the time.
However sending an X-Ray straight to a GP without a report to look at and them to give a patient their own diagnosis is not wise.
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Just chiming in on this point to get people to please please PLEASE ask who it is that you're seeing when you go to your GP or a hospital.
The government is pushing these Physician's Assistants (now renamed to "Physician Associates") hard, and plans to increase their numbers by tens of thousands. These are people that didn't have even close to the grades for medical school, are not doctors, can not prescribe or order ionising radiation, and should be supervised by a doctor at all times. Instead as more and more doctors leave the UK, they are being rapidly pushed into being doctor-replacements. They've done a 2 year diploma only after a possibly unrelated first degree (e.g. could be Zoology). Many of them are failed medical school applicants, and will be very very vague about their title and role. They'll be wearing scrubs, with a stethoscope around their neck, and introduce themselves as "one of the team". "one of the medics", "one of the clinicians", etc. It's fraudulent, but they're an unregulated profession so there's no body to even report them to.
The same is true of Anaesthesia Assistants (AAs, now renamed to "Anaesthesia Associates"). Again, a 2 year diploma and some on the job training vs an actual anaesthetist that is a fully qualified and specialist doctor with at minimum, 6 years of medical school, 2+ years of general duties experience as a doctor, and up to 10+ years of specialist training in anaesthesia. Do not put your life in the hands of these chancers.
There's been a huge number of awfully sad cases of people thinking they've seen a doctor at their GP or in the hospital, only for it to have been a PA who has no clue, and those people have suffered large harm or died.
You are absolutely allowed to ask to see a qualified doctor. Don't be afraid to do so.
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Caporegime
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Not seen this issue reach much outside Medtwitter, nice to see it out there! PA/AA issue is a massive problem and the GMC/Royal Colleges/NHSE are deaf to concerns.
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I talk to them often and they don't have a problem with the Phonebook, we have 45 of them
Soldato
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I work with the radiographers on a daily basis (mainly X-ray and CT) and not once has one had an issue with being called a radiographer. In fact their hospital IDs say Radiographer.
I had an X-ray at A&E a few months back and they couldn't tell if my arm/elbow had a fracture or not.
They were supposed to get someone else to look at it and phone me within a few days which never happened.
At the time I could barely move my elbow at all and couldn't straighten it for the X-ray , it was much better the next day movement wise but extremely weak for about a month and didn't fully heal for 3-4 months.
I'm going to assume it was broken. but the NHS are negligent, somehow my X-ray got lost and never looked at by someone better qualified.
The person at the time said if it was broken it wouldn;t need surgery though so I guess there's not much the hospital could do other than confirm if it was broken or not.
which never happened
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Man of Honour
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CLAIM
It is true that sometimes the damage can't be seen straight away until the swelling goes down (so I've been told by Clinicians), I've personally been the subject of that 4x and have to go the following day and had phone calls.
However unless it's a Portable machine X-Rays go straight on a Sectra/PACS system or similar and can't get lost unless every aspect of your identifiable information is wrong.
Even portable machines retain the data for weeks/months.
If it's broken they can still do stuff like put it in a cast etc.
These are the cases I don't mind seeing on my desk.
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