MRI scan · Manchester
an MRI scan in Manchester: what it costs, and the NHS wait
Prices checked 9 Nov 2026
Cheapest nearby
£400
Nuffield Health Manchester Diagnostic Suite, Manchester · 1 miles away
Typical price
£545
The middle of the 7 published prices within 25 miles.
Range £400 to £585.
NHS wait in Manchester
About 9 in 10
on the Manchester University MRI list under 6 weeks (August 2026).
How long people already on the list had waited. It can’t tell you your own wait.
In short
The lowest published self-pay price we found for an MRI scan in the Manchester area was £565 at Spire Manchester Hospital (Manchester). Checked 9 November 2026.
At the end of August 2026, 86.8% of the 7,589 people waiting for an NHS MRI scan at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust had been waiting less than six weeks, compared with 78.0% across England.
The health regulator (CQC) lists 131 independent healthcare places in Manchester, including 3 with overnight beds and 27 diagnostic or screening services.
Where to get an MRI scan near Manchester
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Nuffield Health Manchester Diagnostic Suite
Manchester · 1 miles away
£400MRI scan (1 part)
What’s included: Nuffield’s guide price for one body part. Nuffield says you get a fixed price after your consultation; check with the hospital whether the report is included.
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Spire Dunedin Hospital
Manchester · 4 miles away
£510MRI 1 area
What’s included: Spire says its MRI prices include contrast dye when needed and the radiologist’s report. You need a referral letter from a GP or consultant.
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Buckshaw Hospital
Chorley · 24 miles away
from£525MRI (one part)
What’s included: Ramsay calls this a guide price (a “from” price). Its page doesn’t list what’s included, so check with the hospital.
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Spire Regency Hospital Macclesfield
Macclesfield · 15 miles away
£545MRI 1 area
What’s included: Spire says its MRI prices include contrast dye when needed and the radiologist’s report. You need a referral letter from a GP or consultant.
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Spire Manchester Hospital
Manchester · 4 miles away
£565MRI 1 area
What’s included: Spire says its MRI prices include contrast dye when needed and the radiologist’s report. You need a referral letter from a GP or consultant.
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Spire Elland Hospital
Elland · 22 miles away
£565MRI 1 area
What’s included: Spire says its MRI prices include contrast dye when needed and the radiologist’s report. You need a referral letter from a GP or consultant.
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Spire Cheshire Hospital
Warrington · 18 miles away
£585MRI 1 area
What’s included: Spire says its MRI prices include contrast dye when needed and the radiologist’s report. You need a referral letter from a GP or consultant.
Prices the hospitals and clinics publish on their own websites, not quotes. Nobody pays to be listed. Distances are straight-line miles from Manchester city centre.
Hospital list prices nearby
7 hospitals within 25 miles of Manchester publish a self-pay list price for an MRI scan, ranging from £400 to £585. They belong to Nuffield Health, Ramsay Health Care UK and Spire Healthcare. These are the hospitals’ own published figures, read from each source page on 9 November 2026; what a list price covers differs between groups.
Nuffield Health Manchester Diagnostic Suite (Manchester), in the city itself, lists MRI scan (1 part) at £400; CQC rates the hospital outstanding (report published March 2026).
Spire Dunedin Hospital (Manchester), about 4 miles from the centre of Manchester, lists MRI 1 area at £510; CQC rates the hospital outstanding (report published October 2022).
Spire Manchester Hospital (Manchester), about 4 miles from the centre of Manchester, lists MRI 1 area at £565; CQC rates the hospital outstanding (report published October 2022).
Spire Regency Hospital Macclesfield (Cheshire East), about 15 miles from the centre of Manchester, lists MRI 1 area at £545; CQC rates the hospital good (report published February 2022).
Spire Cheshire Hospital (Warrington), about 18 miles from the centre of Manchester, lists MRI 1 area at £585; CQC rates the hospital outstanding (report published May 2017).
Spire Elland Hospital (Calderdale), about 22 miles from the centre of Manchester, lists MRI 1 area at £565; CQC rates the hospital good (report published March 2017).
Buckshaw Hospital (South Ribble), about 24 miles from the centre of Manchester, lists MRI (one part) from £525; CQC rates the hospital good (report published July 2026).
Private or NHS?
- Cost. Free on the NHS. Privately £400 to £585 across 7 published prices within 25 miles.
- Wait. Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust: about 9 in 10 (86.8%) on its MRI list under 6 weeks; 1,000 people longer. England: 78.0%.
- Referral. Many private hospitals ask for a referral letter from a GP or consultant before a private scan. Ask before you book.
Not sure which is right for you? Your GP can refer you on the NHS and talk through your options.
The NHS wait for an MRI scan
| 86.8% | About 9 in 10 people on the MRI waiting list at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust had waited under six weeks (August 2026) |
|---|---|
| 78.0% | the same measure across England. The NHS standard is that fewer than 1% wait six weeks or more. |
At Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, 1,000 people had waited six weeks or more and 153 had waited 13 weeks or more. Across the NHS North West region, 90.1% of the 43,852 people on the list had waited under six weeks.
These figures describe people already on the list at the end of the month. They do not predict how long a new referral will wait. Source: NHS England, Monthly Diagnostics Waiting Times and Activity (DM01), August 2026 data, published 8 October 2026. Open Government Licence v3.0. See the full local picture on Waiting Times UK.
Where else to look in Manchester
These 3 providers in the Manchester area are on the CQC register. We list providers alphabetically and say why each is listed. Nobody pays to appear.
Medserena Upright MRI Centre
26-28 The Boulevard, Didsbury, Manchester, Lancashire M20 2EU
MRI centre registered to do scans and tests. No published price found.
Oaklands Hospital
19 Lancaster Road, Salford, Greater Manchester M6 8AQ
Hospital registered to do scans and tests. Ask whether it does MRI.
Spire Manchester Hospital
170 Barlow Moor Road, West Didsbury, Manchester M20 2AF
Publishes a self-pay price, shown above.
1 other registered clinic in Manchester that may be relevant
Their names and registrations suggest it may be relevant. We haven’t checked its services or prices.
Before you book
We found only one published local price in the Manchester area, so there is little to compare it with locally. Prices published elsewhere in the country are on the national MRI page.
Ask whether the scan price includes the radiologist’s report and whether you need a referral letter before booking.
For the month-by-month NHS picture in Manchester, see MRI waiting times in Manchester on Waiting Times UK.
More in Manchester and elsewhere
Where these figures come from
Prices: read from each provider’s own website on the date shown next to each price. We store the price, what the page says it includes, the link and the date.
Provider details are from the CQC register (downloaded 9 November 2026), under the Open Government Licence. A CQC rating describes the whole location, not a particular treatment.
These figures describe people already on the list at the end of the month. They do not predict how long a new referral will wait. Source: NHS England, Monthly Diagnostics Waiting Times and Activity (DM01), August 2026 data, published 8 October 2026. Open Government Licence v3.0. See the full local picture on Waiting Times UK.
Typical price is the middle (median) of the published prices within 25 miles, shown only when there are at least four.
Independent. We’re not part of the NHS or any hospital, we’re not clinicians, and nothing here is medical advice. Hospitals can’t pay to appear or to change their position.
