FindScan is a directory, not a healthcare provider. We do not inspect, accredit or regulate anyone. This page sets out what we do check, and just as importantly what we cannot.
We are not registered with the Care Quality Commission, because we do not provide a regulated activity. We do not employ clinical staff, we do not carry out scans, and we do not report on images.
The clinics listed on FindScan are independently run and independently regulated.
Diagnostic imaging is regulated separately in each UK nation. A clinic is registered with the regulator for the nation it operates in.
CQC
HIS
HIW
RQIA
A CQC rating means nothing outside England, and we do not display one against a Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish clinic.
We hold a verified regulator registration for some but not all of the clinics we list. Where we hold one we show it. Where we do not, we show nothing rather than implying a registration we have not confirmed.
Verifying every listing across four separate registers is work in progress, and we would rather say that than overclaim.
Before you book, you can and should check a clinic directly on its regulator’s own register.
Under the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017, any exposure to ionising radiation needs a referrer who is a registered healthcare professional.
CT, X-ray, DEXA and mammography. A referral from a registered healthcare professional is required before the scan can go ahead.
MRI and ultrasound. Neither carries that requirement, although individual clinics may still ask for a referral.
FindScan is not a referrer and never acts as one. Where a referral is required, it comes from a registered professional with the clinical information to justify the exposure.
If your symptoms are severe, sudden or getting worse, do not wait for a private scan. Contact NHS 111, your GP urgently, or attend an emergency department.
Tell us and we will check it. We would rather correct a record than defend it.