Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the cost to the public purse was of outsourcing radiology scans to external teleradiology companies in each of the last five years.

In the years 2018-2019 to 2022-23, the NHS spent £1,096,083,822 on outsourcing of radiology scans. This represents 7.9% of the total cost of all imaging services across the 5 year period.

Outsourcing of teleradiology scans by the NHS is being used to help deliver NHS targets on diagnostic waiting times and activity, including diagnosis of illnesses such as cancer. Outsourcing allows the NHS to maintain important diagnostic activity whilst the government’s investments to build up diagnostic capacity, including through an increased number of Community Diagnostic Centres, continue to progress.

Table 1: Total Cost of Outsourcing Radiology Scans to External Teleradiology Companies from 2018-19 to 2022-23.