Your referral:
There are a number of ways that patients are referred to us for a vascular ultrasound scan, including:
- From your GP and via particular specialist within the hospital.
- From an outpatient clinic within the hospital itself.
- Via a vascular surgeon, or other specialist.
- Some patients can self-refer for a private appointment.
You may already have been given some information about your scan by your GP, specialist nurse or hospital doctor. If we have sent you an appointment letter – as well as giving you the date and time of your appointment – we will also have given you some information about the scan and what to expect.
Our staff will always try their best to explain the scan and answer any questions you have when you come in to see us. If you have any concerns or questions prior to your appointment, please feel free to call the Vascular department within the hospital and discuss them with a Vascular Scientist. The contact numbers for all of our departments can be found here.
Your scan:
Each of our Vascular Ultrasound departments performs many different kinds of vascular ultrasound scans every day. You can find more information on all of the types of scans we perform below.
Patient information leaflets are also available at all of our full-time sites, and can be provided on request. These leaflets are provided by the Circulation Foundation, and are an excellent source of information and advice about vascular disease, diagnosis and treatment.
Your results:
At the end of your scan, your Vascular Scientist will inform you of what will happen with your results. Depending on where your results are going to after the scan, you may be given a copy of your results to take back to a particular clinic, doctor or nurse so that they can be discussed with you before you leave the hospital. Otherwise, results are normally sent back to the person that requested your scan, who may then contact you at a later date to discuss the results with you.
A copy of your results may be sent to your GP by the person or team that requested your scan, but we have no control over this, or how long it takes to reach you GP if they are.
Our staff are not permitted to discuss results with you directly. Please don’t be alarmed if the Scientist performing your scan declines to discuss your results with you. We do this because it can take time to perform a detailed analysis of your results, and it is important that your specialist doctor, nurse or GP has the opportunity to discuss your results with you themselves.