A company hired by the government to carry out extra MRI scans says it is planning to send some images abroad to be analysed.

MRI scans are used to diagnose a range of health problems, ranging from cancer to headaches.

The move by Alliance Medical could see doctors in places like Belgium or the United States diagnosing NHS patients.

The Department of Health announced in June that Alliance Medical had won a contract to carry out 120,000 extra scans a year for the NHS.

Ministers hope the move will help to tackle long waits for MRI scans in some parts of the country.

Sending MRI scans to Belgium for analysis will increase short term capacity Spokesman, Department of Health

As part of the deal, Alliance Medical is not allowed to use NHS staff to carry out or analyse the scans.

"The contract is designed to boost capacity in the NHS," said the company's medical director Dr Andy Dun.

Sending abroad

However, the shortage of radiologists in the UK means the company must either recruit these doctors from abroad or send patients or images abroad.

The company has decided to send some of the scans abroad to be analysed.

"We are in negotiations at the moment. We are hoping to complete them in the next few days," Dr Dun told BBC News Online.

Under the plans, the images will be sent by secure e-mail to doctors both in and outside the UK.

"These images can be sent securely to anywhere in the world," said Dr Dun.

"They can be sent to our head office in Banbury, elsewhere in the UK or to the United States or Belgium.

"It can be done in real time. They can be viewed while patients are being scanned."

The radiologists will then send a report and their diagnosis to doctors in the NHS.

'Concerned'

However, Dr Anne Thorpe, a member of the British Medical Association's consultants committee, expressed concern with the move.

"I would be concerned that these doctors do not know the patients' backgrounds," she told BBC News Online.

"They may be liable to generate long descriptive reports. It could lead to unnecessary interventions."

But the Department of Health backed the scheme.

"Sending MRI scans to Belgium for analysis will increase short term capacity," said a spokesman.

"All radiologists will be on the specialist register of the General Medical Council for their speciality even if located outside of England."

It comes as the Department of Health denied claims that it was planning to send patients' blood and urine samples to India to be tested.

A report in The Guardian said ministers were considering the move as part of efforts to save the NHS money.

A spokesman said: "The Department of Health is not in talks with any company about outsourcing pathology services to India."

But he added: "We are exploring a number of options for independent sector involvement in diagnostics.

Harpal Singh, chairman of Indian pharmaceutical firm SRL Ranbaxy, told the BBC's Hindi Service he had preliminary talks with the UK government on this issue last year.

However, he said the company had not struck any deal to analyse samples for the NHS.