Brits- Can you tell us if your free healthcare would cover an MRI?

Free healthcare is generally only available for matters relating to general health. If your problem was so bad that it impaired your abillity to walk etc then you could be put on a waiting list for an MRI scan if this is what was recommended by the GP or specialist. Scans for athletic purposes have to funded privately however.

'Does the free health-care not cover athletic injuries? Or is there like a long line'

Yes to both. Probably a few weeks - if its something requiring long treatmnent worth going this route. For couple of sessions would just go straight to physio (and pay £40+ session)

'Explain how an athlete with say a suspected stress fracture would get an MRI'

Not sure on that one. You can go to A&E for check on breaks but not sure on MRI probably best route through doctor - GP for them to book appointment again reckon would be few wks

If an athlete is doing well without funding it's inspite of not because off the system

An MRI would be covered by our health care provided it was recommended by your doctor/specialist. The NHS is there to provide free health care for those that need it. In the case of an athlete, it isn't societies issue if you have a stress fracture and cant run because running isnt in the best interest of the majority. So if you went to a doctor and said I think I have a stress fracture, he/she would tell you to rest up for 6 weeks because that's what the general public would be told.

If you are a funded athlete you would get an MRI instantly as it would be covered by UKA insurance. Or if you had private insurance you can get an MRI quickly if needed.

So to summarise, YES you can get an MRI for free in this country, if it is deemed appropriate, although you may have to wait a while, all depending on where you are and how big the waiting list is. With free health care all treatment is given out on a priority basis. If you go in moaning you can't run and someone goes in with a suspected tumor then the other person is getting an MRI immediately and you will either have to wait or told to rest it and not run (which is what you would have to do anyway if an MRI showed up a stress fracture).

Yes it would, you would need to be referred to a specialist by your GP.

For athletes, working to a strict training programme I imagine the problem would be the time this would take, I'd guess the average time from referral to getting and appointment would be a couple of weeks, maybe more depending on the number of people waiting in the local area.

Whether or not a gp will send you for an MRI or bone scan is totally at their discretion. I have had one MRI and 3 Bone scans that we're all required due to sporting injury. On all occasions, a letter from a private physio did the trick. I do know of some gps wh refuse and will not send for x-rays but the general consensus is to persist and ask your physio to lean on the gp a bit,so to speak. Hope this helps

There is no such thing as "free healthcare".

Here's an anecdote that isn't related to Rojo's question, but it's worth sharing.

My neuro-oncologist told me this about one of his patients from the UK. She had been having headaches when she was in her 40's. Originally diagnosed as migraines. She got medication, they seemed to subside. When they came back, they adjusted her meds and sent her on her way. This process repeated itself twice more over several years.

Finally, since the problem would not go away, she managed to get in to see a specialist who ordered an MRI. By this time she was into her 50s. It was at this point that they discovered the brain tumor that had been causing her problems. It was also at this point that the specialist told her that it was unlikely she would be "eligible" for further treatment due to her age!

So she had to come here for treatment, and she is doing well, despite being mis-diagnosed for about a decade! As another poster said, there is no free healthcare. It could cost you your life!

Groundskeeper Willie wrote:

...So she had to come here for treatment, and she is doing well, despite being mis-diagnosed for about a decade! ...

Thank god nothing like that ever happens in the U.S.

So what you're saying is that the patient had a slow growing (if growing at all) tumor.

If you know anything about brain tumors, if you've had one for a decade and it hasn't killed you, it probably isn't malignant.

The Brits were actually right here. If someone is in their 50s, and has had a slow growing tumor, there is no need for internvention.

But here in the US, we'd perform brain surgery and probably gamma knife or other types of treatment. Yup, the headaches MIGHT go away, but she'll suffer a huge peri-operative risk, a long period of physical and occupational therapy, and in the end she'll end up costing the health care system nearly half a million dollars.

All for headaches that could be treated conservatively with medications that cost pennies a day.

But don't worry, we got that tumor!

You make a lot of assumptions there. That "half million dollar" one is especially humorous.

'By this time she was into her 50s. It was at this point that they discovered the brain tumor that had been causing her problems. It was also at this point that the specialist told her that it was unlikely she would be "eligible" for further treatment due to her age!'

They would only not operate if deemned inoperable

ie you would not survive the operation

Maybe didn't treat her properly but it would not be because she was in her 50's

it will when obamacare takes full effect.

len wrote:

Groundskeeper Willie wrote:

...So she had to come here for treatment, and she is doing well, despite being mis-diagnosed for about a decade! ...

Thank god nothing like that ever happens in the U.S.

Reality Checker wrote:

There is no such thing as "free healthcare".

It is free, the unicorns pay for it.

SupplyandDemand wrote:

The Brits were actually right here. If someone is in their 50s, and has had a slow growing tumor, there is no need for internvention.

If you get a brain tumor I hope your doctor says "Sorry, it's cheaper to give you pills. The tumor probably won't kill you for another 15 years so it's all good. 65 isn't such a bad lifespan." There's a reason Adele got her throat surgery in the US.

Yes. My Dad just had one.

He did have to wait 3 months as it was not urgent and there has to be a medical reason.

The main problem with the NHS is waiting lists, not health coverage.

Ditto to the above. I was referred for an MRI when I was 18, but the waiting list was going to be 7 months (!) so my father upgraded his work health insurance to allow me to be treated privately.

The NHS is one of the few things in my country (apart from my friends and family) that I feel truly proud of, and the determination of the current administration to dismantle it is a chokingly painful thing to witness.

Mr. Obvious wrote:

It is free, the unicorns pay for it.

This comment is worthless (although true)without pics.

not a brit doctor wrote:

If you get a brain tumor I hope your doctor says "Sorry, it's cheaper to give you pills. The tumor probably won't kill you for another 15 years so it's all good. 65 isn't such a bad lifespan." There's a reason Adele got her throat surgery in the US.

There is a reason why Adele got her throat surgery in the US, but it's nothing to do with the overall standard of care.

She would have been recommended a specific surgeon to perform the procedure, perhaps by her own people or by another singer's positive feedback.

A lot of soccer players go to Germany to see some guy when they tear their ligaments, this doctor could have been based anywhere. She wouldn't have used the NHS in the UK anyway, there are options to fund all operations privately in the UK too.

saggyBalls wrote:

it will when obamacare takes full effect.

Actually the ACA will improve the chances of catching this type of thing earlier.