The following short guide outlines the issues surrounding its use with regards to sedation for scans and why the surgery does not prescribe such medications for this purpose.
In addition to the information contained in the paragraph for use of Benzodiazepines for fear of flying, there are additional considerations when using them as a pre-medication before MRI scans.
Benzodiazepines can cause an idiosyncratic response in patients, whereby even a small dose can cause increased agitation in some subsets of patients. This can be dangerous in the context of having a medical procedure.
GPs are not regularly involved, skilled, trained or appraised in sedation skills but by signing your prescription, they take on all the clinical responsibility should you come to harm. Sedated patients should be regularly monitored and there have been reported cases of sedated patients having a respiratory arrest during an MRI scan. The Royal College of Radiologists’ own guidelines on sedation for imaging makes no mention of GP involvement or provision of low dose anxiolytics, and stresses the importance of experienced well-trained staff to be involved in the monitoring of sedated patients:
https://www.rcr.ac.uk/sites/default/files/publication/Safe_Sedation.pdf
This guideline is also quoted by the medical defence union in terms of self medical practice for GPs.
Some MRI scans are carried out with technicians and should there be a medical emergency due to over sedation there would be no appropriate senior clinician on site supervising. This is why only low risk patients will be deemed suitable for certain lists or locations and your technician may not be aware you have taken a sedative.
It is unusual within Heywood Middleton and Rochdale for a patient to be referred by their GP for an MRI scan. Most scans are requested by secondary care (hospital) colleagues and therefore any responsibility for a prescription required as a “pre-med” falls to the requesting clinician. If they are happy for you to use a sedative, they are able to arrange a prescription to be sent to the hospital pharmacy for you to collect. All this should happen without the involvement of your GP surgery.
A patient may take their “sedative” an hour before their assumed procedure and then attend hospital to find their procedure has been delayed or post-poned.