NHS England has reported that the proportion of patients waiting more than six weeks for a diagnostic procedure or test rose to 21.2% in March 2026.

The figure was published in NHS England’s June 2026 Integrated Performance Report, included in the public Board papers for the 4 June 2026 meeting.

Key Developments

In March 2026, 21.2% of patients were waiting more than six weeks for a diagnostic procedure or test.

This was an increase from 20.2% in February 2026 and was 2.8 percentage points worse than March 2025, when the figure was 18.4%.

NHS England said the month-on-month deterioration was in line with usual seasonal trends.

The Integrated Performance Report states that diagnostic investments supported significant increases in activity, with 29.9 million tests delivered against a target of 29.1 million.

However, the report also states that diagnostic waiting list growth outstripped activity growth. Waiting list growth was reported at 4.6%, compared with activity growth of 3.9%.

The total diagnostic waiting list increased to 1.9 million.

NHS England said its actions between May 2025 and March 2026 included capital investment in capacity, clinical support for Tier 1 providers, provider-level modality-specific deep dives and demand optimisation initiatives.

The report also states that the reintroduction of a national target for diagnostics in 2026/27 is expected to drive prioritisation at local level, with operational expenditure agreed to support additional interventions to improve the six-week wait position.

Why It Matters

Diagnostic waits are a key access pressure because they affect multiple parts of the patient pathway.

Delays in diagnostics can affect elective care, cancer pathways, outpatient decision-making, treatment planning and clinical flow. The March 2026 data therefore provides important context alongside the reported improvement in elective waiting list and Referral to Treatment performance.

The Integrated Performance Report shows that the total elective waiting list fell to 7.11 million in March 2026 and that 65.3% of elective patients were waiting less than 18 weeks. However, the deterioration in diagnostic six-week waits indicates that access recovery remains uneven.

For providers and integrated care boards, the diagnostic position highlights the importance of capacity, demand management, modality-level planning and targeted support for areas with poorer performance.

The March 2026 data suggests that increased diagnostic activity alone may not be sufficient where demand and waiting list growth continue to exceed available capacity.

Source Reference

• NHS England: Integrated Performance Report, June 2026.