AQW 31809/22-27

Mr Nick Mathison
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 23/09/2025
Answered On Date: 08/10/2025
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health to detail any steps he is taking to ensure multiple sclerosis patients receive access to an annual MRI scan to aid with monitoring their condition.

Answer:

There is no official guidance which specifies the frequency that people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) should have an MRI scan. For people with a diagnosis of MS the requirement for an MRI will be dependent on their clinical condition and response to treatment. It is not always clinically indicated for a person who is stable on their treatment and reports no new symptoms or symptom changes to require an MRI on an annual basis.

The requirement for a scheduled MRI can be associated with monitoring for people on specific disease modifying treatments (DMTs). For a small number of DMTs a new MRI scan might also be offered to determine eligibility for treatment.

More widely, MRIs will be conducted at the discretion of a Consultant Neurologist, considering how they think a new scan may influence or improve the care they can offer the person in their MS treatment.