Radiology group says reporting backlogs climbing to 'worst on record'

The radiology shortage in the United Kingdom caused delays in care for nearly 1 million patients in 2024. 

A release put out this week by the Royal College of Radiologists—the overseeing body of radiology in the U.K.—describes the reporting delays as “the worst on record.” RCR noted that a record 976,000 scans sat in queue for more than one month in 2024. This figure represents a 28% increase from 2023 and “a stark failure against the NHS target of zero scan results taking longer than a month,” the release indicates. 

The increase comes despite NHS investing more the equivalent of over $560 million USD into efforts to address the growing demand for imaging; more than $226 million USD were spent on teleradiology services to reduce the burden on local providers. 

RCR cautioned that continuing to outsource exams to teleradiology providers is becoming “financially unsustainable.” If the current trends continue, by 2028 NHS will be spending more than $450 million USD per year on outsourcing by 2028, which they estimate would cover the salaries of 3,389 full-time consultant radiologists. 

“It is a false economy to be spending over £200m of NHS funds outsourcing radiology work to private companies, and evidence of our failure to train and retain the amount of NHS radiologists we need,” President of RCR, Dr. Katharine Halliday, said in the release. “We must plan for the long-term, training the workforce we need to meet demand while embracing solutions that can boost our productivity so that patients no longer face such agonizing waits for answers.” 

It is estimated that the U.K. is 30% short of the radiologists needed to address imaging demand. However, the shortage of qualified radiology providers is not exclusive to the area, as imaging backlogs have continued to climb in countries across the globe.  

Read RCR’s full statement here.