Diagnostic test waiting times
MRI scan waiting times in England
At the end of June 2026, 396,182 people in England were waiting for a mri scan; 22.3% had waited more than six weeks and 5.4% more than 13 weeks. NHS England publishes these figures against a six-week measure.
A scan using magnetic fields to picture soft tissue, joints, the brain and spine. The DM01 count covers MRI requested as a diagnostic test, not scans done during an inpatient stay. NHS England reports it as Magnetic Resonance Imaging.
- People waiting
- 396,182
- End of June 2026
- Waiting over 6 weeks
- 22.3%
- NHS England reports this test against a six-week measure
- Waiting over 13 weeks
- 21,339
- Share of all test waits
- 20.6%
- of the 15 reported tests
How this has changed
In April 2025, 15.7% of people waiting for this test had waited over six weeks; in June 2026 it was 22.3%. The number of providers reporting can change between months, so small moves should not be over-read.
Month-by-month figures
| Month | Waiting | Over 6 weeks | Providers |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2025 | 324,051 | 15.7% | 287 |
| May 2025 | 323,353 | 15.8% | 287 |
| June 2025 | 334,923 | 15.6% | 288 |
| July 2025 | 341,525 | 16.8% | 287 |
| August 2025 | 310,110 | 18.8% | 286 |
| September 2025 | 329,964 | 17.3% | 286 |
| October 2025 | 360,322 | 17.4% | 289 |
| November 2025 | 362,208 | 18.7% | 288 |
| December 2025 | 354,763 | 22.6% | 288 |
| January 2026 | 369,273 | 24.2% | 292 |
| February 2026 | 385,738 | 19.9% | 291 |
| March 2026 | 393,913 | 21.6% | 292 |
| April 2026 | 397,300 | 24.5% | 291 |
| May 2026 | 378,142 | 23.1% | 290 |
| June 2026 | 396,182 | 22.3% | 289 |
How much trusts differ
- 1% or less over 6 weeks22 trusts
- 1% to 10%48 trusts
- 10% to 25%32 trusts
- Over 25%33 trusts
NHS trusts by share waiting over six weeks
Trusts with at least 100 people waiting for this test, most recent month, lowest share over six weeks first.
What this measure includes
- People recorded as waiting for one of the 15 diagnostic tests and procedures covered by NHS England's monthly diagnostics collection.
- These figures relate to the wait for the diagnostic test or procedure covered by this dataset. They do not tell you how long your overall NHS pathway will take.
A separate collection from the 18-week figures
The monthly diagnostics collection is published separately from the consultant-led referral-to-treatment collection. They count different things and are not added together, so a diagnostic figure on this page does not describe any referral-to-treatment position.
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 MRI while waiting for NHS treatment
Background reading specific to MRI.
- 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.