Patient information leaflet for X-ray at Saffron Walden

Introduction

This information leaflet is aimed at patients who are attending Saffron Walden X-ray. .

Please contact us in advance of your procedure/examination on 01799 562946 if you:

• have additional requirements that may require a longer appointment
• are pregnant
• require hospital transport
• are unable to lie flat
• have mobility issues
• weigh 250kg / 39 stone or more

Pregnancy status

Depending on the area of examination, all patients aged between 12 and 55 years of age will be asked if there is a possibility they could be pregnant. This is important for us to know before you have your examination because the X-ray uses ionising radiation. We have a legal responsibility to ask if you are pregnant. You can discuss this with a healthcare professional in private if you wish.

Preparation for your X-ray

For your appointment, you should avoid wearing anything metallic over the body part that will be X-rayed, including necklaces, zips, studs and bras. If you are attending the department for a chest X-ray, you may be asked to change into a hospital gown. You may wish to bring your own dressing gown to wear over the top of the hospital gown whilst you are waiting for your X-ray, although this is not essential.

Can I bring someone with me?

Please attend your appointment alone where possible, except for parents and essential carers. Parents and carers accompanying patients may be asked to stay out of the examination room during the X-ray and remain in the waiting area.

Childcare whilst in the department

Staff are unable to look after children whilst an X-ray is taking place. Please make alternative arrangements for the care of your children whilst you attend for your X-ray. If you attend an appointment with children, with no-one to look after them during your X-ray, then your appointment may have to be cancelled and rescheduled.

How long will I be in the department?

When you attend for an X-ray, your appointment will last approximately 15 minutes. We do our best to run on time, but please note that on the day there might be delays

What to do when you arrive

Please arrive 10 minutes before your appointment. This will allow you time to change into a gown if required.

Staff you are likely to meet

During your appointment, you will meet our administration team who will check you in for your appointment. You will then meet a radiographer who will undertake your X-ray. Cambridge University Hospital is a large teaching hospital and therefore there may be students and apprentices present at the appointment. All staff performing the X-ray will introduce themselves before commencing the X-ray.

What will happen on the day of my X-ray?

Depending on the X-ray you are due to have, you may be asked to change into a hospital gown and remove any jewellery which could be overlying the area of interest.

You will then be called into the room where staff members will introduce themselves. Before the radiographer undertakes the X-ray, they will check that your details match with those provided by your doctor. If you are attending as an inpatient, they may look at your hospital wristband which will include your hospital number.

The radiographer will give you instructions on how the X-ray will be undertaken, for example, this could be, standing, lying flat or sitting on a chair. We have moving aids within the department if you need any help transferring, please let the radiographers know.

Personal belongings

You will be able to bring all personal belongings into the X-ray room, and a tray will provided to store small items such as jewellery, phones etc.

What happens after my procedure/examination?

Once you have had your X-ray you are free to leave the department. Your X-ray report will be sent directly to the clinic or GP who referred you. If you are attending as an inpatient, the report will be available to the referring team on the ward. Patients referred from a clinic will be contacted by that clinic with their results or they will be discussed at your next appointment. Patients who have been referred from their GP should contact the surgery for their results. Please ask the radiographer for the current waiting times for results.

Patients who are having an X-ray following a recent accident or injury will be asked to wait for a report and will be referred to the CUH Emergency Department if required. The results will also be sent to your GP or clinic.

How, when and by whom will my results be communicated?

Imaging examinations are reported in order of clinical priority to ensure those with the highest urgency are reported first.

Your referring team or clinician will be responsible for communicating reports back to you.

Test results are made available via MyChart but there is a 3-week delay from when an examination has been reported to it being available on MyChart. This is so that your doctor can discuss your results directly with you first.

Benefits

X-ray examinations provide doctors with information to help them diagnose a variety of conditions. The procedures/examinations may help to confirm or rule out a suspected diagnosis, or occasionally identify a condition that was not suspected.

Risks

You have been referred for an X-ray examination to help make a diagnosis or to monitor your treatment. A specialist in radiology agrees that this is the best test to answer the clinical question that has been asked and that the benefit of the examination is greater than the risk. The X-ray involves a low dose of ionising radiation equivalent to a few weeks or months of natural background radiation, which we are all exposed to every day. Ionising radiation can cause cell damage that may turn cancerous; however the risk of this happening from your examination is considered very low. The dose delivered will be kept as low as is practicable.

Please ask your Radiographer if you would like further information on this.

Are there any alternative tests?

If you would like to discuss alternative tests, please speak to your referring team. Different types of imaging can show different things. Sometimes you may need more than one type of scan to get a diagnosis.

MyChart

We would encourage you to sign up for MyChart. This is the electronic patient portal at Cambridge University Hospitals that enables patients to securely access parts of their health record held within the hospital’s electronic patient record system (Epic). It is available via your home computer or mobile device.

More information is available on our website: MyChart

Contacts/Further information

Please telephone Saffron Walden X-ray on 01799 562946 between the hours of 08.30 – 17.00 Monday to Friday, if you are unable to attend your appointment, and we will rearrange your appointment.

Facilities available

• Toilets
• Disabled toilets
• Changing rooms – including disabled changing facilities
• Free onsite parking
• Baby changing facilities in the outpatient department.

Accessibility requirements

If you require support for your appointment, e.g. if you find it hard to hear, see or be understood by others, please let the receptionist or healthcare professional know on arrival or contact us in advance by Email or telephone: 01223 256998.

Question, concern or complaint?

First, speak to your radiographer, receptionist or other staff member as soon as you can so they can do their best to put things right straight away.

If you don’t feel able to speak directly to the people caring for you, contact the patient advice and liaison service (PALS). Please call 01223 216756 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday, by email, or via a form available via link on the CUH PALS webpage.

PALS is open every weekday, and you can leave a message in the evenings and weekends.