In the Guardian today:
The NHS [England] is paying private firms record sums to analyse diagnostic scans because hospitals are too busy and understaffed to do the work themselves, research has revealed. The amount being spent on outsourced the interpretation of CT and MRI scans is “spiralling out of control” and reflects a short-sighted failure to train enough doctors, ministers are being told.
Scans are vital for diagnosing diseases such as cancer and for monitoring patients’ responses to treatment, so they need to be done quickly. Many hospitals, however, rely on non-NHS health companies reading some scans to ensure they get the results promptly. NHS trusts and health boards across the UK gave £241m to private firms to undertake such work last year. As demand increases, spending has doubled in five years from £120min 2021 and tripled from the £81m spent in 2018. The figure for 2025 of £241m was £25m or 12% higher than the £216m outsourcing bill a year earlier.
Directly comparable figures for Scotland are not available but a 2023 report in the Press & Journal suggested £46m over 5 years so typically around £10m and thus, pro rata, less half the c£240m level in NHS England.
Why might this be?
NHS Scotland has tried to reduce reliance on private outsourcing by building its own national reporting network: The Scottish National Radiology Reporting Service, hosted by NHS Golden Jubilee, lets NHS radiologists across Scotland report scans remotely for different boards. NHS Scotland says this has already reported hundreds of thousands of scans and saved money versus private outsourcing.
The Scottish Government has also announced extra investment in radiology services, seven-day working, mobile scanners and recruitment to try to reduce backlogs.
https://www.gov.scot/news/strengthening-scotlands-nhs/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
So, NHS Scotland building capability rather than just relying on privater sector.
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