Your Consultant, GP, Physio or other medical practitioner may refer you directly to us for a scan if you are a self paying patient. If you have health insurance your Insurance Company may insist on a consultant/specialist referral.  Your referring clinician will contact NorthernMRI and book an appointment for you or you may contact us directly if you have the referral form or letter. Your appointment will be arranged within 48 hours. When we have received your referral we will contact you with an appointment time, this may be by telephone or letter. If the appointment given to you is inconvenient do not hesitate to contact us and we will re-arrange it for you. Your scan is a non invasive procedure and will take somewhere between approximately 15 and 90 minutes to complete depending on the areas to be scanned. Your scan will be read by a Consultant Radiologist or Neuroradiologist. He or she will write a report for the clinician who referred you for your scan. This report will normally be sent by first class post within 48 hours of your scan. The scan will involve you laying on a table that moves through or partially into the centre of the scanner. You will be asked to remain very still during this process. Some scan types may involve a contrast medium being injected into your arm. MRI requires little or no preparation on your part, however, you should ensure that you complete the medical questionnaire fully. If you are in any doubt about any questions please talk to the radiographer when you arrive at the clinic. You will have a medical history check on arrival at NorthernMRI. You may eat and drink normally prior to your scan taking place unless you have been informed otherwise by your consultant or by NorthernMRI. There is onsite parking at NorthernMRI which is situated in the Malone Private Clinic at 93 Malone Road, Belfast. Buses from Belfast town centre run down the Malone Road and the nearest stop is located within 50 yards of NorthernMRI. In addition to the time indicated please allow at least 15 minutes to complete any documentation that may be required and for an essential medical history check with the duty Radiographer. If you are unable to attend for any reason please inform NorthernMRI at the earliest opportunity. We can then reschedule your appointment and pass on the cancelled slot to another patient. MRI has no known harmful side effects. However, as MRI does use an extremely powerful magnet metal objects cannot come into close proximity to the scanner. Therefore patients with some types of metal implants may not be suitable for MRI scanning. Yes. If you are very nervous about the procedure or wish to have company with you for the scan, you may.  The person accompanying you must ensure that he/she carries no metallic objects and must not have any of the following conditions: Cardiac pacemaker  Intra-cranial clips  Implants (e.g. cochlear, neuro stimulators) Intra-orbital metallic fragments  Pregnancy If in doubt please ask.