GeraClinic / Diagnostic Waiting Times Index / Barium enema
Barium enema β NHS waiting times (DM01)
An X-ray examination of the large bowel using a barium contrast agent. It is now used rarely, largely replaced by CT colonography and colonoscopy.
How long are NHS Barium enema diagnostic waits?
Barium enema is one of the 15 key diagnostic tests in NHS England's DM01 collection. An X-ray examination of the large bowel using a barium contrast agent. It is now used rarely, largely replaced by CT colonography and colonoscopy. Structural problems of the large bowel. Its very low modern volume makes it a small but still-reported DM01 line. The operational standard is that fewer than 1% of patients should wait 6 weeks or more for a DM01 test β not met across diagnostics since November 2013. The current Barium enema figure publishes here once it has been extracted from the DM01 file and verified.
What it diagnoses
Structural problems of the large bowel. Its very low modern volume makes it a small but still-reported DM01 line.
Why the wait matters
A low-volume legacy test; its waiting list is small and mostly of historical interest, but it remains one of the 15 DM01 lines.
Barium enema DM01 waiting figure
Figure loads from the DM01 file
The per-test Barium enema waiting figure (number and share waiting 6+ weeks) publishes here as soon as it has been extracted from the NHS England DM01 monthly file and checked against the source. Gera does not display a diagnostic number it has not verified β so no figure is shown until then.
Source file: NHS England DM01 "Monthly Diagnostics Web File" (provider-level CSV/Excel), e.g. Monthly-Diagnostics-Web-File-Provider-<MONTH>-<YEAR>.xls, from the Diagnostics Waiting Times and Activity statistical work area.
How the index and the 6-week standard work (methodology) β
Barium enema: FAQs
- What is Barium enema and what does it diagnose?
- An X-ray examination of the large bowel using a barium contrast agent. It is now used rarely, largely replaced by CT colonography and colonoscopy. Structural problems of the large bowel. Its very low modern volume makes it a small but still-reported DM01 line.
- What is the NHS waiting-time standard for Barium enema?
- Barium enema is one of the 15 key diagnostic tests in NHS England's DM01 collection. The operational standard for all DM01 tests is that fewer than 1% of patients should wait 6 weeks or more β a standard not met across diagnostics as a whole since November 2013.
- Does a Barium enema backlog affect other waits?
- A low-volume legacy test; its waiting list is small and mostly of historical interest, but it remains one of the 15 DM01 lines.
- What is the current Barium enema waiting figure?
- The per-test Barium enema waiting figure publishes here as soon as it has been extracted from the NHS England DM01 monthly file and checked. Gera does not display a diagnostic number it has not verified against the source, so no figure is shown until then.
Waiting a long time for Barium enema?
NHS Barium enema waits can run well beyond the 6-week standard. Many people use a private online consultation to discuss symptoms, understand whether an investigation is appropriate, or get a referral while they wait. GeraClinic connects you with a UK-registered doctor by video β a private service, not part of or affiliated with the NHS. For a medical emergency always call 999 or go to A&E.
Other imaging tests
Source
This page draws on the real NHS England DM01 Diagnostic Waiting Times and Activity release. Test descriptions are factual; any waiting figure shown is verified against the DM01 source, and figures not yet extracted are shown as such rather than estimated.
Contains public sector information published by NHS England and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: NHS England β Monthly Diagnostic Waiting Times and Activity (DM01) (January 2026, published March 2026).
Contains public sector information published by Gera Systems and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (source data). Source: Gera Diagnostic Waiting Times Index β derived from NHS England DM01 open data (January 2026, published 3 July 2026).