The Optimising MRI Pathways for Children Clinical Working Group was established in Autumn 2022 following feedback from clinical colleagues across the South West suggesting it would be beneficial to review MRI practice across the region. MRIs can be conducted either when a child is awake, under sedation, or under general anaesthetic. The aim of the group was to review current practice by sharing resources, guidelines, and practical solutions to support children to undergo awake MRI procedures where possible, and reduce the need for general anaesthetic to ensure that services provided across the region are high quality, patient-focused, and continue to improve to meet the needs of our patients and their families.
The Optimising MRI Pathways for Children Group has been stepped from January 2026.
Existing workstreams will be continued within the South West Surgery in Children ODN through the Paediatric Anaesthetic Working Group, the Developing SW Play Services Working Group, and the SW SIC ODN core team will continue to obtain data on the number of scans carried out awake vs under GA from local BI teams as an annual report which can be shared with providers.
