NHS England has published the Diagnostic Imaging Dataset covering March 2026. The release arrived on 23 July, four months after the activity month, in line with the established schedule for these central collections.
The dataset pulls together detailed records of imaging tests performed on NHS patients. Data come directly from local radiology information systems, submitted each month. At patient level, it records referral source, patient type, the specific test and body site examined, along with demographics that include GP practice, postcode, ethnicity, gender and date of birth.
Waiting times receive particular attention, measured from initial request through to final report. This granularity allows planners and researchers to track not just volume but the real pace at which diagnostic services respond. Such transparency matters. It exposes where bottlenecks persist and where resources are stretched, information that should drive decisions rather than vague promises of future expansion.
Accompanying tables break down counts by modality provider and body site. Separate files cover request-to-test intervals, test-to-report times, interventional procedures and report turnaround. Coverage completeness and basic quality metrics sit alongside the raw activity numbers, a standard that prevents convenient omissions.
The figures arrive without fanfare yet form part of the steady evidence base needed to judge whether taxpayer-funded services deliver for patients. Rhetoric about modernisation and new interventions carries little weight when monthly data continue to reveal the day-to-day pressures inside radiology departments. Accountability begins with seeing the numbers plainly.
Full annual reporting for 2025-26 remains months away, scheduled for 26 November. Until then, these incremental releases keep the spotlight on trends that matter most to waiting patients and those who manage stretched budgets. The pattern is clear: regular publication supports scrutiny. Anything less would invite exactly the sort of evasion that has too often shielded underperformance in the past.
