Guide · checked October 2026
Radiology reporting turnaround times: NHS England targets
NHS England's 2023 guidance says no verified imaging report should take longer than four weeks after the images are acquired, with shorter targets by urgency: CT and MRI for ED and acutely unwell patients within four hours, urgent inpatients within 12 hours, cancer faster diagnosis pathway in three days, urgent GP and outpatient in seven days and routine in 28.
The targets
- Maximum: no verified report later than four weeks after image acquisition.
- CT and MRI, ED and acutely unwell patients: under four hours.
- CT and MRI, urgent inpatients: within 12 hours; non-urgent inpatients within 24 hours.
- Cancer faster diagnosis standard pathway: three days.
- Urgent GP and outpatient referrals: seven days.
- Routine: 28 days.
These come from NHS England's Diagnostic imaging reporting turnaround times (PR1753), published August 2023. Check the document for the full detail by modality and setting.
Measuring turnaround properly
Define the clock: from acquisition (or exam completion) to verified report, as the guidance does. Classify each study by urgency at the time it was requested, not after the fact. Report the share within target and the long tail, not just the average, and separate in-house, insourced and outsourced reporting so you can see where delays sit.
The RCR's reporting standards (third edition, October 2025) require a standard operating procedure for turnaround times, and the Quality Standard for Imaging includes turnaround in its assessment.
Context
Turnaround pressure is linked to workforce. The RCR's May 2026 press release, using preliminary 2025 census data, says £241m was spent in 2025 on scans read by private teleradiology companies. Treat these figures as preliminary.
What the targets do not mean
- Four weeks is a maximum, not a routine target.
- Meeting the target on average can still leave many studies breaching it.
- Different urgencies have different clocks, so one department-wide average says little.
Where RadQA fits
RadQA's analytics show median turnaround and SLA breach rate over any range, using routine, urgent and stat targets you configure to match your policy, and can be split by modality and by connector. The same view shows report QA findings, so turnaround is not read in isolation from quality.
RadQA is a pilot. It is a quality-assurance assistant, not a diagnostic device, and it does not replace radiologist reporting or clinical judgement.
Questions
What is the routine radiology reporting target?
NHS England's 2023 guidance gives 28 days for routine studies, within an overall maximum of four weeks after image acquisition.
How fast should ED CT be reported?
The guidance says CT and MRI for ED and acutely unwell patients should be reported in under four hours.
Sources
Official pages, checked October 2026. Guidance changes, so check the current version before you rely on it.
General information for healthcare managers and clinical teams, checked October 2026. It is not legal, regulatory or clinical advice; follow the current official guidance and your organisation's own policies. No patient data is used in these examples. RadQA is a quality-assurance assistant for imaging departments. It is not a diagnostic device and does not replace radiologist reporting or clinical judgement. Validate against your own systems and local governance before production use.