NHS spends record £241m outsourcing scan analysis to private firms | NHS
The investigation found that the NHS is paying record sums to private firms to analyze diagnostic scans because hospitals are too busy and too understaffed to do the job alone.
Ministers have been told the amount spent on external interpretation of CT and MRI scans is “out of control” and reflects a short-sighted failure to train enough doctors.
Scans are vital for diagnosing diseases such as cancer and monitoring patients’ responses to treatment, so they need to be done quickly. However, most hospitals rely on non-NHS healthcare companies to read some scans so that results are available immediately.
NHS trusts and health boards across the UK donated £241 million to private firms to undertake such work last year. As demand grows, spending has doubled in five years, from £120m in 2021, and tripled from £81m spent in 2018.
The 2025 figure of £241 million was £25 million or 12% higher than the outsourcing bill of £216 million a year ago.
The Royal College of Radiologists (RCR), which compiles figures from its annual workforce census, said healthcare spending on private scan reading was a “bubble”. A shortage of radiologists across the NHS has left hospitals with too little capacity to read all the scans, meaning the service is freeing up cash flow to independent firms, it said.
The RCR also raised concerns that analysis carried out by private firms was sometimes so poor that NHS radiologists had to re-read scans, raising questions about the benefit of outsourcing.
86 per cent of NHS radiology heads had serious concerns that privatization would lead to lower quality reports, and 90 per cent said NHS radiologists should double-check outsourced reports.
“The NHS’s increasing reliance on radiology outsourcing is not sustainable and its costs are spiraling out of control,” said RCR chief executive Dr Stephen Harden.
“In the short term, outsourcing may help manage diagnostic backlogs, but it is not a long-term solution to workforce shortages. Clinical radiologists play an important role in making most diagnoses, but the increasing demand for scans exceeds our capacity.”
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) acknowledged radiology services were under increasing pressure but said its upcoming NHS workforce plan would provide the staff needed.
Harden called on ministers and NHS chiefs to boost the radiology workforce by creating more training roles in the profession. There are currently 11 applications for each training position.
“Ignoring this call and continuing to spend heavily on outsourcing would be short-sighted, not the best use of NHS funds and not in the best interests of patients,” he said.
The NHS could become permanently dependent on private firms to read scans, the Center for Health and Public Interest think tank said.
Director David Rowland said: “The use of private teleradiology companies to read NHS scans is growing rapidly. “History shows that when the government outsources these roles to the private sector, they remain in private hands, robbing NHS hospitals of revenue and income, and removing the opportunity to train the next generation of NHS staff.
“The risk is that the NHS will become completely dependent on private companies for this critical function, and their sole focus is on outcomes.”
A DHSC spokesman said: “We are aware of the pressures facing radiology services and know that demand for diagnostic imaging has increased significantly in recent years.
“Despite this, the NHS carried out 30 million diagnostic tests last year alone and 95,000 more patients were diagnosed or cleared for cancer within 28 days compared to the previous 12 months.
“But we know there is more to do, which is why this government will publish a 10-year workforce plan to help deliver a transformed healthcare service in England. This will ensure we have the right staff in the right places, with the right skills to provide care to patients when they need it.”
