Check If an Imaging Clinic Is Open Right Now - Before You Call

The traditional way to book a scan goes something like this: your doctor hands you a referral, you search for nearby clinics, and then you start dialling. The first clinic is closed for lunch. The second has you on hold for ten minutes before telling you they don't do your scan. The third can see you - in five weeks.

Each call means repeating your referral details, waiting on hold, and often finding out basic information - like whether they're even open - that should have been visible upfront.

Radly puts that information where it belongs: on the clinic card, before you ever pick up the phone. Every clinic listing shows its current open status, weekly hours, and availability signals, so the only conversations you have are with clinics that can actually help you.

Every clinic card and profile on Radly shows a live open status based on the clinic's published operating hours:

• "Open now · until 5 PM" - the clinic is currently open, and you can see exactly when it closes today • "Closed · opens 8:30 AM" - the clinic is closed, with the next opening time shown so you know when to expect a response

Below the status you'll find the full weekly schedule, so you can plan ahead - useful if you can only attend before work, on a late-night trading evening, or on a Saturday.

One caveat: public holidays and one-off closures can differ from regular hours. If you're travelling a long way, especially around holiday periods, it's worth confirming with the clinic when they respond to your booking enquiry.

Where available, Radly shows a typical wait time on clinic listings - an indication of how long patients usually wait between requesting an appointment and having their scan.

This is an estimate, not a guarantee. Actual availability depends on the scan type (MRI slots are usually scarcer than X-ray slots), the time of year, and whether your referral is marked urgent. Urgent referrals are generally prioritised - clinics routinely fit urgent scans in within a day or two.

Typical wait times are most useful for comparison. If one clinic typically books within a few days and another within a few weeks, that difference is worth knowing before you enquire - especially if your doctor wants the scan done promptly. The clinic itself will confirm exact timing once you submit a booking request.

One more signal helps you avoid dead ends: accepting new patients. Some clinics, particularly smaller practices or those with high demand for specialised scans, periodically pause new patient bookings. Radly shows this on the clinic profile so you don't waste an enquiry on a clinic that can't take you.

Together with open status and typical wait times, this signal answers questions that used to take a phone call each: Are you open? Do you do my scan? Are you taking new patients? For exactly how soon you can get in, the clinic will confirm once they respond to your request.

You can always phone a clinic directly - but requesting through Radly has some practical advantages:

• No hold music - submit your enquiry in a minute or two, any time of day, even when the clinic is closed • Your details arrive in writing - the scan type, referral details and your preferred times reach the clinic accurately, with nothing lost over a crackly line • The clinic comes back to you - with a confirmed time and any preparation instructions • Everything in one place - your enquiry, the clinic's details, and their response

Phoning still makes sense in genuinely urgent situations, or if you have complex questions best answered in conversation. For everything else, a written request through Radly saves time on both ends - and clinics respond during their business hours shown on their profile.

Need a scan outside standard business hours? A few tips:

• Filter by hours - use Radly to spot clinics with early-morning, evening or Saturday sessions. Weekend availability is more common for X-rays and ultrasounds than for MRI or CT. • Book weekend slots early - Saturday appointments are popular and fill quickly, so enquire as soon as you have your referral • Hospital radiology departments - public hospitals provide after-hours imaging, but generally only for emergency and inpatient cases, not routine referred scans • Genuinely urgent symptoms - if your condition is urgent, don't wait for a routine appointment. Contact your doctor, call NURSE-ON-CALL (1300 60 60 24 in Victoria), or attend an emergency department.

For most routine scans, a weekday appointment within your referral's validity period is perfectly fine - a GP referral lasts 12 months, so you have time to choose a slot that suits you.