MRI second opinion
for patients in the UK

How to get your MRI images from the NHS

You have a legal right to a copy of the information a health organisation holds about you, including your scans. You do not need to say why you want it, and in most cases it is free. The organisation must respond within one calendar month; for a complex request it can extend this to three months, but it has to tell you within the first month (NHS England Digital).

1. 1

   Find the right team

   Contact the radiology department or the access to health records team of the hospital trust that did your scan. Many trusts have a separate email address or form for imaging requests; the trust's privacy notice usually names it. You can also ask in person or by phone (NHS England Digital).

2. 2

   Ask for the images, not only the report

   A written report alone cannot be re-read. Ask for the full images in DICOM format, the standard file format for medical images, and for the report as well. If you had earlier scans of the same body region, ask for those too: comparison with previous imaging is often what matters.

3. 3

   Choose how you receive them

   Many NHS trusts send images through the Image Exchange Portal (IEP), the secure system NHS hospitals use to share scans: you receive an email link and a PIN, and download the files within a set time. Others provide a CD or DVD, or a download through their records portal. Any of these works for us.

4. 4

   Keep proof of identity ready

   Trusts usually ask for proof of identity, for example a driving licence or passport, before they release records (NHS England Digital).

Wording you can copy

Adapt the parts in square brackets. Send it to the trust's imaging or health records team and keep a copy with the date.

Subject: Subject access request: radiology images

Dear Access to Health Records team,

I am making a subject access request under Article 15 of the UK GDPR for copies of my radiology images held by your trust:
[type of scan, for example MRI of the lumbar spine], performed on [date] at [hospital], and any earlier scans of the same region.

Please provide the complete images in DICOM format together with the written reports, by secure download link (for example through the Image Exchange Portal) or on CD or DVD.

My details: [full name], [date of birth], [NHS number], [address], [mobile number for a PIN], [email].
I enclose proof of identity.

Thank you.
[Name]

Sources: NHS England Digital, Subject access requests: guidance for patients and service users; Information Commissioner's Office, Getting copies of your information (SAR); NHS Digital, HSCN case study: Sectra Image Exchange Portal

Who reads your scan

Every report is signed by a named radiologist with a Swiss federally recognised specialist title in radiology (MEBEKO), matched to the body region of your scan. Our medical director, Oxana Smagulova, is listed in the Swiss federal register of medical professions; her profile links to the register entry.

With Alpine Conscientious and Alpine Elite, two radiologists read your images and sign one consensus report.

Oxana Smagulova's profile and register entry

How long it takes, and how that compares

Standard delivery within 72 hours is included in every package. With Priority the 24 hours are binding, and we refund the Priority fee if we miss them. The clock starts when your images and your questionnaire are complete; getting the images from the hospital takes its own time, up to one calendar month.

For context: the NHS website says MRI results usually take 1 to 2 weeks, and the target in England is that no verified report should take longer than 4 weeks after the scan. For the scan itself, NHS England's monthly figures show that at the end of August 2026, 22.0% of people waiting for an MRI in England had waited 6 weeks or more, against an operational standard of under 1% for all tests.

An independent review does not get you a scan sooner and does not move you in an NHS queue. It helps when you already have images and a decision is waiting, or when you want a second interpretation of a report you have.

More on NHS reporting times: How long does an MRI report take?

Sources: NHS England, Diagnostic Waiting Times and Activity, August 2026 (published 9 October 2026); NHS, MRI scan; The Royal College of Radiologists, Radiology delays worst on record (2025), on the 4-week reporting target

NHS England publishes these figures monthly; the September 2026 figures are due on 12 November 2026. They cover England only.