1 Dec 2025 | 4 mins

Nearly half of NHS trusts missing test waiting time target as backlogs grow

Nearly half (46%) of NHS acute trusts in England are not currently meeting an interim NHS target requiring no more than 20% of people should wait 6 weeks or longer to have a diagnostic test.

New analysis by the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) reveals that in September 2025, over 386,000 people waited longer than six weeks – around one in five on the list. This includes over 74,000 people who waited too long to have a CT or MRI scan, which are vital for diagnosing and treating time-critical conditions such as cancer. The total number of people waiting for a test in England exceeded 1.7 million. People in the East of England were the most likely to wait too long to have a test.

Trusts have until 2027 to ensure no more than 20% of patients wait 6 weeks or longer to have a test, but only half are currently hitting this interim target. Delays slow diagnosis and treatment, with clear impacts on health outcomes. This urgency is reflected by the NHS’s key national target for no more than 1% of people in England to wait 6 weeks or longer to have a test. However, this 1% goal has not been hit since 2015, and with half of trusts currently struggling to meet the interim 20% target, significant barriers to achieving the national target remain.

Growing demand for CT and MRI scans could add to persistent backlogs at trusts already straining to deliver timely tests. Over the past year, there were typically more than half a million people on the waiting list for a CT or MRI scan each month. This is almost 19,000 more per month than in the previous year.

RCR President Dr Stephen Harden said:

“Too many patients are facing anxious waits for answers about their health. After a long wait for a test, delayed test results and treatment often follow, amid a critical 30% shortfall of radiologists in England.

Demand for diagnostics is growing in patients of all ages. To tackle backlogs and futureproof our NHS, we must increase capacity by investing in the workforce and embracing solutions that boost productivity.”

The RCR is calling for measures in the upcoming NHS 10-Year Workforce Plan to increase the radiology workforce and manage demand for scans. These include workforce planning, and rollout of our iRefer medical imaging guidelines to help hospitals cut waiting lists and ensure patients get the scans they need.

Find out more in our response to the NHS 10-Year Workforce Plan consultation.

Notes to editors:

Media contact: [email protected] 02038054065
The Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) is the leading professional membership body for clinical radiologists and clinical oncologists.
Radiologists are specialist doctors who use imaging to diagnose, monitor and treat diseases and injuries.
CT and MRI scans are used extensively in cancer, stroke and emergency care.
Diagnostic performance targets are set out in NHS England’s Medium Term Planning Framework
According to RCR analysis of NHS England data, in September 2025, 46% (61 of 133) of NHS acute trusts in England did not meet the interim target of no more than 20% of patients waiting longer than 6 weeks to have a diagnostic test.
In September 2025, the total number of people waiting to have a diagnostic test in England exceeded 1.7 million – the third highest since records began. This includes all people waiting for all diagnostic tests, including those waiting for less than 6 weeks and longer than 6 weeks.
Between October 2024 and September 2025, over half a million people (500,563) on average were waiting to have a CT or MRI scan each month. This is almost 19,000 more people each month on average compared to the previous year (481,632).
The RCR Clinical Radiology Workforce Census 2024 (published June 2025) found a 30% shortfall of radiologists in England. This means England has 30% fewer radiologists than it needs just to meet current demand.