Diagnostic and Cancer Waiting Times data for January 2024
Responding to the diagnostic waiting times data release, Vice President of Clinical Oncology Dr Tom Roques said:
“It is completely unacceptable that 10,000 patients are waiting over two months from referral to cancer treatment as of January 2024. One year on from the Prime Minister pledging to cut NHS waiting lists we are now breaking the wrong records.
“Once again, the NHS has substantially missed all its cancer and diagnostic waiting times targets. Over 95,000 patients endured waits exceeding six weeks for CT or MRI imaging tests.
“If we are ever to get back on track the NHS must invest in additional clinical radiologists and oncologists to address the increasing demand for imaging and cancer care. It is imperative for the government and NHS England to urgently prioritise expanding training capacity for new doctors while doing everything to retain the doctors we already have.”
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% of people waiting over 6 weeks for a diagnostic test (MRI & CT)– 1% target |
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January 2024 |
19.7% |
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December 2023 |
19.3% |
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January 2023 |
22.6% |
Today’s NHS England data shows us that in January 2024, nearly one in five patients were waiting more than six weeks for their CT or MRI imaging test – equivalent to 95,797 patients - over 7,000 more patients than in December 2023.
The NHS in England would have to employ 422 diagnostic radiology consultants overnight in order to clear the 6 week wait for CT and MRI scans in one month.
*This is calculated based on CT scans and MRI scans taking an average 15 and 20 minutes respectively to report.
Cancer waiting times
Performance against cancer waiting times deteriorated substantially in January 2024 compared to the prior month. However, this is in line with performance in January in previous years, likely due to an accumulation of winter pressures.
- 75,000 people waited over a month for a cancer diagnosis (or cancer to be ruled out), following an urgent GP referral.
- 10,000 people waited longer than two months to start treatment for their cancer.
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January 2024 |
December 2023 |
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62 days following urgent referral to the start of treatment (Target 85%) |
62.3% Target missed |
65.9% Target missed |
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31 days from decision to treat to start of treatment (Target 96%) |
87.5% Target missed
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91.1% Target missed
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28-day Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS) 28 days from referral to finding out whether you have cancer or not (Target 75%) |
70.9% Target missed
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74.2% Target missed
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