Diagnostic and Cancer Waiting Times data for December 2023

In response to NHS England’s March 2024 diagnostic imaging and cancer waiting times data release,
Dr Katharine Halliday, President of the Royal College of Radiologists said:

“Testament to the hard work of our doctors, the cancer waiting times data shows improvement compared to March 2023, but we're still falling significantly short of most cancer and diagnostic targets. The NHS now has a year to meet its interim target that 95% of patients wait less than six weeks for a diagnostic test.
“With a 3.2% improvement rate over the past year, it would take another 5 years and 3 months to meet this interim target - equivalent to a whole parliamentary term. At this rate, achieving the overall target of having only 1% of patients wait over six weeks for their test would require an additional 6 and a half years, reaching far into September 2030.

“The next government must prioritise increasing scanning capacity and this means, crucially, investing in the radiologists responsible for interpreting these tests. It involves expanding specialty training opportunities, supporting local trusts in accommodating new trainees, and ensuring that existing doctors are incentivised to remain within the NHS. Failure to address these issues will lead to ever-increasing reporting delays and prolonged waiting times for patients, ultimately impacting patient chances of treatment and recovery.”

March 2024

Target	Result
62 days to treatment following urgent referral Target: 85%	68.7% 15,900 patients started their cancer treatment after 62 days of their urgent referral.
31 days to treatment from decision to treat Target: 96%	91% 4,617 patients started treatment for their cancer more than 31 days from when the decision to treat had been confirmed.
28-day Faster Diagnosis Standard Target: 75%	77.3% 58,500 patients were told their cancer diagnosis or had cancer ruled out after 28 days of a referral.

February 2024

Target	Result
62 days to treatment following urgent referral Target: 85%	63.9%
31 days to treatment from decision to treat Target: 96%	91.1%
28-day Faster Diagnosis Standard Target: 75%	78.1%

March 2023

Target	Result
62 days to treatment following urgent referral Target: 85%	63.8%
31 days to treatment from decision to treat Target: 96%	NA - incomparable dataset
28-day Faster Diagnosis Standard Target: 75%	74%

• There has been a significant improvement against the main cancer waiting time – which measures the time from an urgent referral to a patient starting treatment. The target is for 85% of patients to be seen within 62 days of a referral. While this target was still missed, over 2,200 more patients were seen within 62 days compared to the previous month.
• The other targets saw very marginal changes – however, for the second time, the NHS hit its 28-day Faster Diagnosis Standard.

March 2024

Target	Result
CT and MRI scans Target: 1% wait less than 6 weeks	16.2% 79,500 patients were waiting 6+ weeks for a CT or MRI scan
All scans Target: 1% wait less than 6 weeks	21.8% 354,900 patients were waiting 6+ weeks for an imaging test

February 2024

Target	Result
CT and MRI scans Target: 1% wait less than 6 weeks	15%  (75,130 patients)
All scans Target: 1% wait less than 6 weeks	20.8% (334,900 patients)

March 2023

Target	Result
CT and MRI scans Target: 1% wait less than 6 weeks	18.1% (87,490 patients)
All scans Target: 1% wait less than 6 weeks	25% (407,170 patients)

• Despite improvements over the past year, more patients were waiting over 6 weeks for a diagnostic test than in February 2024. We are still significantly far from meeting the target that 99% of patients receive their scan within 6 weeks of a referral. 
• To clear the backlog within one month, we would need an additional 370 radiologists to be hired overnight, equivalent to 10% of the current workforce.