RCR puts 2025 NHS teleradiology bill at £241M
Preliminary RCR census data show the UK spent £362M on short-term radiology fixes in 2025, including £241M on outsourced scan reporting.
The UK spent £241M on outsourcing radiology reporting to private teleradiology companies in 2025, according to preliminary data from the Royal College of Radiologists’ 2025 Clinical Radiology Workforce Census. The figure was a record high and rose £25M, or 12%, from 2024.
Total spending on short-term radiology fixes reached £362M in 2025. RCR said that category includes outsourcing, paid overtime, and locum staffing used to manage excess radiology workload.
The college said the £362M total would cover more than 3,000 full-time radiologist salaries. That exceeds the UK’s most recently published shortfall of almost 2,000 clinical radiologists needed to meet current diagnostic demand, according to RCR.
Over the past 5 years, the UK has spent £1.4B managing excess radiology workload. RCR also projected that outsourcing costs could rise to £454M by 2030 if current trends continue.
Reporting delays persisted despite the outsourcing spend. NHS England data cited by RCR showed that 940,900 scan results in England took longer than 1 month in 2025, compared with 994,633 in 2024.
Demand also continued to outpace workforce growth. In 2024, CT and MRI demand grew by 8%, while the radiology workforce grew by 4.7%, according to RCR.
RCR said 86% of radiology leaders responding to the 2025 census were concerned that outsourcing produces lower-quality reports. Another 90% were concerned that outsourced reports need double-checking by NHS clinical radiologists.
“Increasing NHS reliance on outsourcing in radiology is not sustainable,” RCR President Stephen Harden said in the release. He said outsourcing may help manage diagnostic backlogs in the short term, but should not be treated as a long-term answer to workforce shortages.
Modelling commissioned by RCR found that training 10% more clinical radiologists per year would save the NHS £100M over 10 years compared with continued reliance on short-term fixes. The college said there were 11 applicants for every radiology training post in 2025.
The preliminary census data are based on survey responses from 100% of UK clinical directors of radiology departments. RCR said the full 2025 Clinical Radiology Workforce Census will be released in summer 2026.
Company:NHS
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