What is the NHS waiting-time standard for MRI?

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) 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 — a standard not met across diagnostics as a whole since November 2013.

How does MRI relate to cancer waiting times?

MRI is one of the 6 DM01 tests that gate a suspected-cancer diagnostic pathway. A wait for the test pushes back the point at which a cancer is confirmed or ruled out, which feeds into the cancer 62-day and 28-day faster-diagnosis standards.

What is the current MRI waiting figure?

The per-test MRI 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.

GeraClinic / Diagnostic Waiting Times Index / MRI

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) — NHS waiting times (DM01)

A scan that uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to build detailed cross-sectional images of soft tissue, without ionising radiation. Gates a suspected-cancer diagnostic pathway

Imaging· one of the 15 key DM01 tests · England · Open Government Licence v3.0

How long are NHS MRI diagnostic waits?

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is one of the 15 key diagnostic tests in NHS England's DM01 collection. A scan that uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to build detailed cross-sectional images of soft tissue, without ionising radiation. Brain and spinal conditions, joint and soft-tissue injury, and many cancers where soft-tissue contrast matters. It is a core staging and diagnostic test on several urgent pathways. The operational standard is that fewer than 1% of patients should wait 6 weeks or more for a DM01 test — not met across diagnostics since November 2013. The current MRI figure publishes here once it has been extracted from the DM01 file and verified.

Source:Gera Diagnostic Waiting Times Index — derived from NHS England DM01 open data·as of January 2026updated monthly (last: 3 July 2026)

What it diagnoses

Brain and spinal conditions, joint and soft-tissue injury, and many cancers where soft-tissue contrast matters. It is a core staging and diagnostic test on several urgent pathways.

Why the wait matters

MRI is a common bottleneck on suspected-cancer and neurology pathways: a long MRI wait pushes back the point at which a diagnosis can be confirmed or ruled out.

MRI DM01 waiting figure

Figure loads from the DM01 file

The per-test MRI 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 — 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) →

MRI: FAQs

What is MRI and what does it diagnose?: A scan that uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to build detailed cross-sectional images of soft tissue, without ionising radiation. Brain and spinal conditions, joint and soft-tissue injury, and many cancers where soft-tissue contrast matters. It is a core staging and diagnostic test on several urgent pathways.
What is the NHS waiting-time standard for MRI?: Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) 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 — a standard not met across diagnostics as a whole since November 2013.
Does a MRI backlog affect other waits?: MRI is a common bottleneck on suspected-cancer and neurology pathways: a long MRI wait pushes back the point at which a diagnosis can be confirmed or ruled out.
How does MRI relate to cancer waiting times?: MRI is one of the 6 DM01 tests that gate a suspected-cancer diagnostic pathway. A wait for the test pushes back the point at which a cancer is confirmed or ruled out, which feeds into the cancer 62-day and 28-day faster-diagnosis standards.
What is the current MRI waiting figure?: The per-test MRI 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 MRI?

NHS MRI 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 — a private service, not part of or affiliated with the NHS. For a medical emergency always call 999 or go to A&E.

See a GeraClinic doctor today Back to the Diagnostic Waiting Times Index

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 — 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 — derived from NHS England DM01 open data (January 2026, published 3 July 2026).