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My experience with an MRI scan on my hand

Posted By Mr Bisquits

"My experience with an MRI scan on my hand"

About: Antrim Area Hospital / MRI Unit

(as the patient),

I can but only describe my experience as particularly upsetting and traumatic at Antrim MRI Department. The staff were unwelcoming, unkempt and quite hostile. Overall a totally unprofessional environment representing the NHS.

What should of been a routine MRI procedure taking 25 minutes, took approximately 1 hour 20 minutes. Taking account I had only the use of 1 hand, I not only had to hold the buzzer but also had to adjust my own ear muffs which I was unable to do and so had to endure the sound of the machine whilst I was in it.

I was asked to lie on my front with only the use of my elbows to assist without any support, I was brought out of the machine as they said they were unable to get an image so weighted my hand down in the device, once again this did not work, I was brought back out of the machine, turned on my side and strapped which was quite uncomfortable and on numerous occasions I asked is this something I'm doing wrong where I was assured no whilst they were pulling cables out of the machine and discussing between themselves and stating they do not know what is wrong with this machine at the minute.

Once again this was tried and did not work so I was then turned on my back with my hand weighted down my side. Upon completion I asked had it worked, to which they replied thankfully it worked this time, and then proceeded to tell me the results will be available in the next 5-7 days.

I then left the department feeling exhausted and in pain from my hand. I waited patiently for a week hoping to get an update from the scan and to what treatment / surgery may be needed next, only to be told by the hand clinic that they were unable to get an MRI of the hand because it was my (the patients) fault. I understand that someone wrote I was uncompliant.

I was absolutely mortified to hear this and very upset. Not only has this affected me, it's wasted money for the NHS and I am still in significant pain and awaiting further investigation. I just wish to reaffirm that as a person, I always try to cooperate and why would I not when it was clearly in my best interests to get the MRI scan completed.

I do not appreciate being blamed and lied to about when it was totally not my fault. The department on that day from what I witnessed was a disgrace. 

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Responses

Response from Christine Gillan, Lead Radiographer MRI, Radiology, NHSCT 3 days ago
Christine Gillan
Lead Radiographer MRI, Radiology,
NHSCT

Submitted on 13/05/2025 at 22:01
Published on Care Opinion on 14/05/2025 at 08:03

My name is Christine Gillan and I am the MR lead Radiographer in the MRI department in Antrim. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience in the department. All feedback we receive helps us to understand patient experience and we value this information which helps us to know what we are doing well and what things we need to improve.

I would like to offer a heartfelt apology for the way you were treated within the department and if you want to call me to have and chat about your experience please ring the department on 02894424900 and ask to speak to me.

In your feedback you had noted about the attitude of staff and felt they were unkempt and hostile. It is not the professional attitude or behaviour we expect from any Trust employee and it is important that they receive this feedback so they can reflect and learn from your experience. This is not in keeping with the Trust mission statement of providing compassionate care with our community in our community. I have shared your comments with my staff and we are are very disappointed that you had such a negative experience in the MRI department. It is always our aim to provide a high standard of care, to all our service users.

MRI of the hand is usually carried out with the patient lying on their front to ensure that the area that we are looking at is in the centre of the scanner to achieve the best possible images. As the pictures take up to 4 minutes to acquire it is usual to immobilise patients using straps and sandbags to ensure blurring of the images by movement is reduced.

There is an option to scan by the side which the staff did try eventually with you lying on your back. There are different devices called coils which take the images for us, specific to the area being scanned. Occasionally we have to change these coils, to adapt our scanning technique and this can result in images not being as clear. It can be challenging for staff and patients to cope with changes to the normal scanning procedure. Unfortunately we are short-staffed at times and there are pressures on the service to complete a scan within a certain time frame. When staff need to adapt technique this can cause delays.

I want to thank you again for your comments which will be used to improve patient experience in the future and apologise that your experience was so upsetting and exhausting for you.

If you want to meet with me in person to further discuss your feedback please contact me and we can arrange a date and time. You had mentioned in your feedback that the MRI of the hand was not possible. If you would like to arrange a new appointment for repeat imaging please contact the MRI department on the number above and I will ensure your experience is better this time.

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