Unique MRI scanner helps Newcastle clinic boost profit

A private Newcastle clinic is on course to double its profits by the end of the year.

Newcastle Clinic, which houses the only opened sided MRI scanner in the North of England, has projected sales of £1.8m, an increase of half a million pounds, after experiencing a 120% increase in patient referrals over the past year.

This equates to a doubling of pre-tax profits from £82,000 last year to an estimated £175,000.

Referrals to the Clinic jumped to 200 from 90 per month over this period, 62.5% of which are NHS.

Managing director of Newcastle Clinic, Shaun Fryer said: “The figures show that there is a real demand for this particular service and that doctors and patients in key geographical areas are becoming more aware of our open sided MRI scanner.”

The Clinic, in Jesmond, invested close to £700,000 for the scanner for the service of patients referred by the NHS on the basis of being overweight or suffering from anxiety or claustrophobia. A closed scanner is too restrictive for such patients.

The most common NHS scans include lower spine, brain and musculoskeletal (MSK) – muscle or joint problems - whilst for private patients it is spine, MSK then brain scans.

Mr Fryer added: “We’ve achieved success with Newcastle Clinic and its growing suite of diagnostic tools available to NHS and private clients alike. There is a drive toward more privatised medical diagnostic providers and we intend to position ourselves at the forefront of this. We have said before that the North East is a blueprint for the medical service to be rolled out nationally and the rise in referrals re-enforces this.”

Chairman of Newcastle Clinic Phil Taylor, who is working closely with managing director Shaun Fryer, says the scanner plays a key role in his growth strategy for the medical diagnostic sector.

“I am keen to roll out the model we have used at Newcastle Clinic right across the country if we hit predicted sales of £1.8 million by the end of the year.

“Obviously the large increase in referrals from both NHS and private clients is a significant step in the right direction to achieving this.”