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Imaging (Radiology)

Our services A-Z

Imaging (Radiology) provides a diagnostic, interventional and therapeutic service to the local population and a specialist service for the region. Imaging is core in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of a wide variety of diseases.

We cover many areas across the hospital, and can also be found in:

Imaging services in the community

We provide imaging services outside of Addenbrooke’s Hospital and this could mean you have a scan at one of our community locations.

Imaging services in the community

Radiation - risks versus benefits

People are often concerned about being exposed to radiation during an x-ray. You have been referred to the imaging department for an x-ray examination / procedure. A specialist in radiology agrees that this is the best examination / procedure 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 dose of ionising radiation, this can be equivalent to a few weeks, months or years (depending on the test) 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 low. The dose delivered will be kept as low as is practicable.

If you have any questions about your examination / procedure please ask your radiologist / radiographer when you come for your appointment.

Further information

More information about national radiation guidelines is available from the following websites and documents:

Resources

Patient information

To access imaging (radiology) patient information leaflets, please see the CUH Patient information A-Z.

MyChart

Appointment reminder can be sent via patients MyChart. You are also able to get your results of your scan / x-ray via MyChart. However there is a delay of 3 weeks from when the report is complete to when it becomes available on MyChart. This is to allow time for the clinicians to check reports before they are communicated with the patient, in case they have any queries and require further clarification.

Patient feedback

We frequently invite patients to complete an online survey to find out what you think about the treatment and care you have received whilst in our department. This is because your feedback is important in helping us to improve Imaging services. Click here to find out more about how the Trust is acting on feedback or to provide feedback following your visit.

Who's who in imaging

You can recognise our staff by their name badge and uniform. The illustrations found below of our uniforms can help you out when you are in our hospitals.

Illustration of a badges used by staff. On the left is a hospital badge showing the job title Diagnostic Radiographer. Next to this is a yellow name badge used by staff.
Hospital badge and yellow name badge
Illustration of, the white tunic and polo shirt that both have red tips on the collar and arms, worn by radiology technologist's
Diagnostic radiographer
Illustration of, the dark red tunic, worn by radiology assistant practitioners.
Assistant practitioner
Illustration of, the white tunic with red tips on the collar and arms and the white collared shirt, worn by radiology technologist's
Technologist
Illustration of the white and grey striped tunic, worn by healthcare assistants.
Healthcare assistance
Illustration of  the lilac charcoal coloured shirt, worn by radiology x-ray couriers.
X-ray courier
Illustration of the white tunic and white scrubs, worn by student radiographers.
Student radiographer
Illustration of the lilac polo shirt, worn by radiology clinical support workers
Clinical support worker
Illustration of the dark blue and light blue tunics, worn by radiology nurses.
Radiology nurse
Illustration of the green scrubs with short sleeved top and trousers, worn by radiology interventional staff.
Interventional staff

Where to find us

Please click here to see how you can find your way around the site.

Non-medical referrers (NMR)

All non-medical referrers (NMR) requesting imaging within the imaging directorate must follow our NMR policy. When you refer, you'll be asked to indicate whether you're an NMR on our referral forms.

To become an NMR, you must complete the required training, establish a scope of practice outlining which exams and procedures you can refer for, and register as an NMR on the CUH database.

If you're an NMR and want more information or to start the registration process, please register for access to our GP Portal.

CUH GP Portal registration

Healthcare professionals. Find out how to register for our CUH NHS GP Portal.

Register for CUH NHS GP Portal

After you have signed up, visit the Imaging pages for details.