Latest Government data shows 44,000 fewer people were waiting more than six weeks for procedures like endoscopies, ultrasounds and MRIs compared to February last year.
The data sows that between July and February, around 4.5 million tests, checks and scans were carried out in community diagnostic centres (CDCs) - a 50% increase on the previous year. This equates to 18,000 more checks being delivered every day for patients.
The government is continuing to expand the number of CDCs nationwide that offer 12-hour, seven-day access to vital tests and appointments. The expansion is funded from the extra £26bn investment in the health service delivered at the Autumn Budget, bringing care closer to communities who need it.
Health and social care secretary, Wes Streeting, said: 'The additional diagnostic capacity we've unlocked isn't just about numbers on a spreadsheet – it's about giving people their lives back. Every ultrasound, MRI or endoscopy represents someone who can now plan their future with certainty rather than fear.
'Through our Plan for Change, we will get our NHS back on its feet and make it fit for the future.'
In response, Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: 'Opening new CDCs are an excellent example of how investing capital funding in the NHS can accelerate diagnosis and treatment times. A decade of underinvestment in capital funding has left the health service struggling with outdated infrastructure and a shortage of diagnostic machines. So more capital funding is essential if the NHS is going to be able to buy the modern scanners and equipment it needs.
'Health leaders welcomed the additional capital investment set out in the Budget last year, yet this is still at least £3.3bn a year short of what they say is needed to address historical underinvestment and plug the productivity gap.
'We hope that the Chancellor's forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review will increase NHS capital investment and that the National Infrastructure Strategy will open up much-needed new routes for mutual investment from the private sector.'
