House of Commons Library research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats shows 365,000 patients in July had waited six weeks or more for tests, including MRIs and CT scans, a 22-fold rise on 15,706 in July 2015.

Liberal Democrat health and social care spokesperson, Helen Morgan MP said: ‘If the Government is going to truly fix our NHS, they must tackle these sky-high waiting lists so people aren't left waiting weeks or even months for a vital scan or test. The Prime Minister's milestone on treatment times risks being meaningless if people can't even get the scans they need to get diagnosed.'

The waiting list for MRIs grew by 139,000 between 2015 and 2024 - an increase of 78%, with the total number of waits for CT scans at over 100,000, a jump of 70,000. 

The proportion of patients waiting six weeks or more for an MRI has risen from 1% in 2015 to 20% in 2024, while 11% of patients are waiting six weeks or more for a CT scan and 18% for an ultrasound.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘Patients have been let down for too long whilst they wait for the care they need. 

‘Our Plan for Change will get the NHS back on its feet and bring waiting lists under control. The Budget provided the funding to deliver an extra 40,000 operations, scans and appointments per week to ensure patients can expect to be treated within 18 weeks. 

‘We are investing around £1.5bn capital funding for new surgical hubs, diagnostic scanners and beds across the NHS estate to create more treatment space in emergency departments, reduce waiting times and help shift more care into the community.'