2OPSecond opinion · consultation
Second opinion
A consultant in the right specialty reviews your scans, letters and results and writes a plain-English opinion within ten working days.
- Next slot
- Wed 11:00Dr Margaret Ashdown · demo
- Promise
- Written opinion within 10 working days
- Self-pay
- £350
- Consultants
- 1 in 2OP
A radiologist's reporting station 
Dr Margaret Ashdown 
Rachel Ambrose 
MRI suite, ground floor
2OP[01] About
What the appointment is.
You send us everything: letters, reports, images on disc or by link. Our radiologists re-read the scans, the specialist reads the notes, and you get a written opinion and a conversation, in person or by video.
What happens
- Upload or post your records; we chase missing images for you
- Independent re-report of the scans by a consultant radiologist
- 30 minutes with the specialist, in person or by video
- Written opinion within ten working days, copied to whoever you choose
Every self-pay price is fixed in writing before you attend. Insured patients need an authorisation number from their insurer; we bill the insurer directly.
Included in £3504 lines
- Independent radiology re-report
- 30-minute consultation with the specialist, in person or video
- Written opinion in plain English, within ten working days
- Letter to your own doctor if you wish
Self-pay, fixed2OP
£350from
Includes a 30-minute consultation
- Wait
- Video within 5 days
- Results
- Written opinion in 10 working days
- Referral
- Not needed
- Takes
- 30 minutes, plus review time
- Next · demo
- Wed 11:00
Insured: usually covered on our request; we check your policy and bill the insurer directly.
Suitable for
- A diagnosis you want checked before treatment
- Surgery you have been offered and are unsure about
- Scans reported as normal when symptoms continue
- A long NHS wait for the next step
Not for
- Urgent or emergency care
- Disputes over care already given (a medico-legal report is different)
[02]2OP · the numbers
The numbers on this one.
Wait, results turnaround, the referral rule and what happens when, with the audited figure under them.
Numbers and risks
Wait
Video within 5 days
Results
Written opinion in 10 working days
Referral
Not needed
Takes
30 minutes, plus review time
Audited2025 audit
1 in 6 second opinions changed the recommended treatment in 2025
- median, first call to consultant plan
- 4 days
- median, call to MRI
- 38 hours
- day-case complication rate
- 0.6%
- unplanned overnight stays
- 0.9%
- median insurer claim settled
- 11 days
Northgate Results
How you get your results
- On the day
- Ultrasound, X-ray, ECG and endoscopy: the clinician tells you what they saw before you leave.
- Within 2 working days
- MRI and CT reports are signed by a consultant radiologist and appear in your account. You get a text and an email.
- The same working day, if it matters
- Anything that needs urgent action is phoned through to you and your referrer by the reporting consultant, before the report is even typed up.
- Within 7 working days
- Biopsies and histology. The consultant who took them calls you with the result and the plan.
If a scan or test shows something that needs action, the reporting consultant phones you the same working day and tells your referrer. You are never left to find bad news in an online account.
[03]Consultant physician, second-opinion lead
Reported by Margaret Ashdown.
Consultant and questions
- Next · demo
- Wed 11:00
- GMC
- DEMO-7200014
- Languages
- English
30 yrs in NHS acute medicine620 second opinions coordinated
Do I need a GP referral?
Not for a self-pay scan or consultation: our clinical team does a short phone assessment and writes the request. Insurers usually need a GP referral before they will authorise a consultant, though most will cover a scan we request. Rachel's team checks your policy before you attend.
How fast, really?
Audited for 2025: median 38 hours from first call to MRI, median 4 working days from first call to a consultant's written plan, endoscopy within 7 days, day surgery within 3 weeks. The estimator shows the next available date for each department.
Is the price fixed?
Yes. Scan and consultation prices are published. Day-surgery packages are quoted in writing after your consultation and include the surgeon, anaesthetist, theatre, stay, medicines, two follow-ups and any return to theatre within 30 days. The quote is the invoice.
What is not included in a package?
The initial consultation, any scan before it, and anything unrelated to the operation. If a keyhole gallbladder has to become an open operation, or you need to stay overnight, that is covered. We say so on the quote.
Which insurers do you bill directly?
Bupa, AXA Health, Aviva, Vitality, WPA, Cigna, Healix, Allianz, Freedom Health and The Exeter. Give us your policy number and authorisation code; you pay only your excess on the day. Other insurers: pay the fixed price and claim it back with our itemised invoice.
How do I get my results?
Everything goes into your Northgate Results account when it is signed: MRI and CT within two working days, ultrasound and X-ray the same day, biopsies within seven working days. Anything urgent is phoned through the same day by the reporting consultant.
- Open
- Mon–Fri 07:30–20:00 · Sat 08:00–14:00
- Next slot
- Tue 08:40 · Dr Naomi Sterling (demo)
- Waiting
- Scans within 48 hours, consultants within 5 working days
- Where
- Northgate House, Wexbury WX1 4NQ
- Phone
- 01632 960700