NHS diagnostic test waiting times in England
Diagnostic tests are measured against a separate six-week standard. These pages cover the tests people most often search for.
Latest published month held: June 2026.
Most searched tests
- MRI scan
396,182 waiting · 22.3% over 6 weeks
- CT scan
202,521 waiting · 9.9% over 6 weeks
- Ultrasound (non-obstetric)
662,250 waiting · 19.9% over 6 weeks
- Colonoscopy
79,140 waiting · 32.0% over 6 weeks
- Gastroscopy
76,509 waiting · 30.0% over 6 weeks
Other tests
- Flexible sigmoidoscopy
24,076 waiting · 32.5% over 6 weeks
- Cystoscopy
25,685 waiting · 26.5% over 6 weeks
- Echocardiogram
164,213 waiting · 27.7% over 6 weeks
- DEXA scan
68,382 waiting · 16.5% over 6 weeks
- Hearing tests (audiology)
124,719 waiting · 41.2% over 6 weeks
- Urodynamics
10,192 waiting · 45.1% over 6 weeks
- Sleep studies and lung function
43,279 waiting · 31.0% over 6 weeks
- Nerve conduction studies
42,022 waiting · 42.3% over 6 weeks
Other ways to browse published waits
- By specialty
One page per consultant-led service.
- By hospital trust
One page per NHS trust.
- By area
Cities and NHS regions compared.
What these figures cannot tell you
- Where you are in a queue, or when you will be seen or treated.
- How urgent your own referral is. These are aggregate waiting-list figures and do not show the clinical priority of an individual patient.
- Anything about a specific consultant, clinic or site within a trust.
- What will happen next month: these are end-of-month snapshots of a past period.
Related guides on this site
- How diagnostics fit into treatment pathways
Explains why a diagnostic wait and an 18-week wait are counted separately.
- Why am I still waiting after diagnostics?
Explains the reporting stages that follow a diagnostic test.
- Private diagnostics while waiting for NHS treatment
Background reading on private diagnostics alongside NHS treatment.
- Work out how long you've waited
Explains how the 18-week measure is counted and what a published percentage represents.
- Your rights while you wait
Reference article on what the 18-week standard is and is not.
Everything on these pages comes from NHS England published statistics. See how we handle the data.