NHS Scan Appointment Postponed? What Happens During Strikes and Winter Pressures, and What You Can Do

On 26 October 2026 the British Medical Association announced that consultants in England plan to take strike action from 06:59 on Wednesday 25 November until 06:59 on Friday 27 November. The BMA said emergency cover would continue, similar to how hospitals are staffed on Christmas Day, and that the action could be avoided if the Government commits to formal negotiations within four weeks. Plans like this can change, so check the BMA's announcements and your hospital's website nearer the time.

Strikes are only one reason a scan appointment moves; winter illness, staff sickness and scanner breakdowns move appointments every year. The questions are the same whatever the cause: will my scan go ahead, how will I know, what are my rights, and what can I do while I wait.

Will my scan go ahead?

Nobody can answer that for your appointment except the hospital, and in most cases the answer is yes. The planned action announced by the BMA covers consultants in England, and hospitals decide locally which routine services run on a strike day. In previous rounds of action, trusts told patients the same thing. University Hospitals of Derby and Burton, for example, told patients in August 2023 that if their appointment was affected they would be contacted directly by text message or phone call, and that if they had not been contacted they should attend as normal.

So the first rule is simple: unless the hospital contacts you, go. If you are unsure, call the number on your appointment letter.

If your appointment is moved

If your scan is postponed, the hospital arranges a new date; you do not need a new referral. University Hospitals of Derby and Burton said in 2023 that affected patients would be contacted as soon as possible to arrange a new appointment date, and that anyone who had arranged NHS patient transport for the affected appointment should cancel it in good time. Keep the original letter, note who called you and when, and ask for the new date in writing.

It is worth knowing which rules apply to a scan. The NHS guide to waiting times in England says that if an operation is cancelled on or after the day of admission for non-clinical reasons, you should be offered another binding date within 28 days or have your treatment funded at a hospital of your choice. That rule is written for admissions, not outpatient scans, so a moved MRI does not automatically carry a 28-day promise. What still applies is the 18-week maximum for the non-urgent consultant-led treatment the scan is part of, and the NHS says that if a cancellation causes a longer wait you can ask the hospital or your integrated care board to move you to a different provider.

Your rights while you wait

The NHS Constitution for England gives you the right to access certain services commissioned by NHS bodies within maximum waiting times, and says that where this is not possible the NHS must take all reasonable steps to offer a range of suitable alternative providers. The NHS waiting times guide says that if you are likely to wait longer than the maximum you can ask to be seen by a different provider, that the hospital or integrated care board must investigate and offer suitable alternatives, and that you can complain if you are unhappy with the response. Our guide to NHS right to choose explains how choice works.

Diagnostic scans have their own national figures. NHS England publishes monthly statistics on waiting times and activity for 15 key diagnostic tests, the most recent covering August 2026 and published on GOV.UK on 9 October. Our guide to NHS MRI waiting times explains those figures, and our guide to community diagnostic centres explains the sites that carry out many routine scans.

Tell the referrer if anything has changed

A postponed appointment is a good moment to check in with the clinician who referred you. If your symptoms have worsened, say so: the urgency of a request can be reviewed. If you were referred on an urgent suspected cancer pathway, ask the hospital directly how your appointment is affected rather than assuming; the hospital, not you, is responsible for keeping that pathway on track.

The NHS says NHS 111 can help if you think you need medical help right now, and that 999 is for life-threatening emergencies like serious road traffic accidents, strokes and heart attacks. A scan appointment, moved or not, is never the route for a sudden change in your health.

When a private scan is a sensible stopgap

For a routine scan that has been pushed back by weeks, some people choose to have the diagnostic step done privately and take the report back to the NHS. That is reasonable when the question is clear, the referrer agrees, and the scan is one a private clinic can do to the same specification. The NHS says an MRI scan takes detailed pictures of the inside of your body and is used to help find the cause of symptoms and plan treatment. Many private clinics accept self-referral for MRI and ultrasound; CT and X-ray use ionising radiation and need a referral from a registered healthcare professional under the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017. Our guide to private MRI without a GP referral explains the difference.

Three checks keep a private scan useful. Ask the referrer which views or sequences they need. Ask the clinic to send the report to your GP and the referring clinician as well as to you; our guide to getting your scan images and report explains how. And keep your NHS appointment unless the referrer says it is no longer needed: a private scan does not by itself remove you from the NHS pathway.

Comparing clinics on FindScan

If you decide a private scan is the right stopgap, you can compare MRI clinics, ultrasound clinics or search by town on FindScan and send an enquiry; the clinic contacts you to confirm whether it needs a referral and the next steps. Clinics in England are registered with the Care Quality Commission, and you can check any clinic on the CQC website before you enquire.

FindScan is a directory of independent, regulated imaging clinics: you compare clinics and send an enquiry, and the clinic contacts you. We are not a healthcare provider, we take no position on the dispute, and nothing here replaces advice from your GP or the clinician who referred you. If your appointment has moved, the hospital's own letter or call is the authority on what happens next.