The NHS in Wales is short of 88 radiologists — a gap equivalent to 28% of the workforce it needs. The Royal College of Radiologists, the UK professional body for the specialty, has warned the BBC that shortages are affecting care. For the first time, the organisation says it is seeing some patients’ conditions deteriorate while they wait for diagnostic scans.
The problem is not simply how long patients wait for a scan. Producing the report is equally important: it allows the treating doctor to assess the findings and plan the next steps. Dr Owen Nicholas, chair of the Royal College of Radiologists’ Welsh committee, told the BBC that an unavailable scan report could prevent a discussion about treatment results or lead to an appointment being cancelled.
Largest shortages in north and west Wales
The scale of the shortage varies across Wales. According to the clinical radiology census labelled 2025 and cited by the BBC, the shortfall in consultant radiologists — senior specialist doctors — is 42% in north and west Wales. In south Wales, it is 22%.
The workforce is growing, but more slowly than across the UK. The BBC reports that Wales’ radiology workforce increased by 1.1% in 2024, compared with a UK average of 5%.
For cancer patients, waiting for results also means uncertainty about whether treatment is working and what happens next. Women who spoke to the BBC described anxiety while waiting and concerns about the consequences of delays in monitoring their illness. Their accounts do not, however, establish that delays caused their cancer to progress.
The warning about some patients’ conditions deteriorating comes from the Royal College of Radiologists. The BBC does not give a number of patients affected or individual assessments linking waiting times to a decline in health. The warning should therefore not be taken to mean that everyone waiting for diagnostic tests experiences such deterioration.
Betsi Cadwaladr points to recruitment and shorter waits
In response, Clara Day of Betsi Cadwaladr, the NHS health board responsible for healthcare in north Wales, said recruitment was under way in radiology and oncology. She also highlighted expanding collaboration with North Wales Medical School.
According to Day, work with an external provider has helped reduce waits for scans and reports since April, despite a substantial rise in demand. Betsi Cadwaladr also says it prioritises patients according to clinical need and monitors how long scan reports take to produce.
That reported improvement applies to Betsi Cadwaladr, rather than Wales as a whole. For patients, both stages of diagnosis remain important: having the scan and getting its report, without which a planned discussion about treatment may not go ahead.
