A MUM is living in fear that she has a brain tumour – but claims the NHS won’t give her a brain scan because of her weight.
Jackie Nulty has been suffering with debilitating symptoms since October 17.
MEN MediaJackie Nulty has been suffering with excruciating migraines, dizziness and an inability to concentrate since the start of October[/caption]
MEN MediaThe mum-of-two was referred for an MRI scan by her local GP[/caption]
Visiting her doctor in Audenshaw, Manchester, she told them how she had been suffering with excruciating migraines, dizziness and an inability to concentrate.
The 33-year-old said that during her appointment, her GP told her that she needed an urgent MRI scan to check that her symptoms aren’t down to a brain tumour or another serious illness.
Now, seven weeks after first attending her local GP surgery, Jackie says she has still not had a scan.
Jackie said she had spent weeks hassling her doctor, before being referred to a community clinic.
But when she tried to get an appointment, she claims she was told she was over the weight limit and therefore would not be able to use the machine.
For a conventional MRI scan, the NHS says the maximum weight limit is 25 stone.
Anyone weighing above this has to use specialist bariatric equipment.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Jackie said initially, the doctor said she would have a scan in two days.
She was then told correct procedure hadn’t been followed during her consultation and that she would have to go to A&E.
“When I got there they treated me like a time waster and said a normal doctor wouldn’t just send me to hospital for an MRI scan.”
“I have been to A&E three times and waited eight hours each time and still didn’t get an MRI scan,” she said.
Then her doctor suggested she go to Salford Royal Hospital, it was there she was given a CT scan and told she would still need an urgent MRI.
“On November 1 I was finally told I had been referred for an appointment a local clinic on the 14th. They did a phone call first just to check I could have one.
“They were asking me what I weighed and when I told them they said it was over the limit for the community scanner and that I needed to have one at the hospital.”
She added that she was ‘so embarrassed’ and couldn’t believe her doctor didn’t know this before they referred her.
Finally, the mum-of-two got another appointment on November 21 at a clinic where she had already been told she couldn’t have a scan.
“I said to my GP do you just expect overweight people to die? I am not going to be able to lose four stone overnight and I don’t think I should have to. There are a lot of overweight people in this country and I want to give a voice to people like me.”
The NHS states that an MRI scan can be used to examine any part of the body including:
brain and spinal cordbones and jointsbreastsheart and blood vesselsinternal organs, such as the liver, womb or prostate gland
The results are then used to diagnose conditions, plan treatments and assess how effective previous treatment has been.