Patient information

West London Children's Healthcare

Find out what to expect when you come to hospital for children's imaging.

Before your appointment

We will aim to provide your child with an appointment date within a week of receiving the referral form. There may be some preparation for some examinations. If this is the case then we will let you know what needs to be done in your appointment letter or patient information leaflet.

Please remember to bring your child’s red book with you. Also, please remember to check the appointment letter for anything specific that you have been asked to bring on the day.

When you arrive you will be asked to provide:

your full address and telephone number(s)
your child’s appointment card and appointment letter
your child’s GP’s name and address
a list of questions you may want to ask the consultant

Please make sure you have this information prepared in advance.

During your appointment

You, or a guardian/carer should attend all appointments with your child if they are under the age of 16. However, it may not be possible for that person to be present whilst the scan/x-ray is being performed.

We need you to check in at the reception desk on arrival where you will be asked to confirm your child’s name, date of birth and address. We will need you to supply a copy of your child’s appointment letter or, if they are attending for a plain x-ray, the original request form. If your child is having an MRI scan, you will be asked to complete a safety questionnaire.

Please note that we are a teaching hospital, so medical students may be present for some appointments. If you do not wish to have them in the room please let the nurse or doctor know and the students will be asked to step outside.

Waiting times can vary dependent on the examination being performed. We will try to see your child as close to their appointment time as possible, however there can be delays if our staff have been asked to perform emergency scans or x-rays. The length of your appointment will depend on the type of scan or x-ray being performed.

Once your appointment begins, you will be asked to confirm your child's name, date of birth and address before we can perform the scan/x-ray. The radiographer performing the scan or x-ray will give you instructions on the best positions for an optimal image for review.

After your appointment

The results of all examinations are made available to the referring team as soon as our consultants have reviewed the imaging taken and issued a report. By referring team, this could be your child’s GP or the clinical team looking after your child at our Trust or at external organisations.