The NHS Radiology Backlog:
What Every Patient Should Know

If you have had a scan recently and are waiting for the results, you are navigating one of the most significant pressure points in modern NHS care. The diagnostic imaging backlog - the accumulation of patients waiting for scans and for the reports that follow - affects hundreds of thousands of patients every year, and the data shows it is still growing.

This article explains what the backlog is, why it exists, and what you can do as a patient.

The Scale of the Challenge

As of early 2026, approximately 1.8 million people in England are waiting for a diagnostic test. Of those, around 447,000 - more than one in four - have been waiting beyond the six-week standard. The NHS has not met that standard since November 2013.

The broader NHS waiting list stands at 7.22 million treatment pathways. While this is lower than the peak figures of recent years, it reflects the accumulated pressure on every part of the health system following years of rising demand and constrained capacity.

There Are Two Separate Waits

Many patients are unaware that the imaging pathway involves not one wait but two - and that both have grown significantly in recent years.

The Royal College of Radiologists described 2024's reporting delays as the worst on record - and the trend has been worsening year on year. A patient who has already had their scan may still face weeks of uncertainty before the results reach their clinician.

Why Does the Backlog Exist?

The backlog is not the result of radiologists working inadequately or any single failing within the NHS. It is a structural challenge rooted in a widening gap between demand and workforce capacity that has been building for years.

The RCR's 2024 Workforce Census, published in June 2025, found a 29% national shortfall of consultant radiologists in England. Demand for CT and MRI scans is growing at more than twice the rate of workforce growth. Without significant intervention, the shortfall is projected to reach 39% by 2029.

This is not a complaint about individual clinicians. It reflects a system under structural strain, in which the number of scans being requested has outpaced the profession's ability to train and retain the radiologists needed to report them.

What the Government Is Doing

The scale of the problem is now formally acknowledged at the highest level. The government's 10-Year Health Plan, published in July 2025, commits to restoring the NHS constitutional standard of 92% of patients beginning elective treatment within 18 weeks by 2029. Diagnostic imaging has been identified as a priority area, with plans to expand Community Diagnostic Centres and deploy validated AI reporting tools across the NHS from 2027.

These are meaningful commitments. Whether they translate into measurable reductions in waiting times over the coming years will depend on sustained investment and, crucially, on addressing the workforce shortfall - which takes years to resolve given the length of specialist radiology training.

What Can Patients Do?

There are several practical steps worth taking if you are waiting for imaging or results.

A Note on Private Reporting

Doctorum was founded by NHS consultant radiologists who see the pressures on diagnostic services from the inside. We offer formal written reports on MRI, CT, ultrasound, mammography, X-ray and nuclear medicine studies within 24-48 hours, at a fixed price, with no GP referral required.

A Doctorum report is entirely independent of your NHS pathway. Your NHS referral, appointment and treatment plan remain exactly as they were. Many patients find that having the information from a private report allows them to have a more informed conversation with their NHS team - and, above all, reduces the anxiety of not knowing.

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