Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she has taken to ensure that x-ray results are received by patients within the national average of two weeks.

Ensuring patients receive prompt diagnostic test results, including X-rays, is an important priority for the Government. NHS England guidance, published in August 2023, sets a maximum reporting timeframe of four weeks, or 28 days, from image acquisition. All National Health Service providers and imaging networks are expected to comply with this guidance and improve practice to meet the standard. Data published in July 2026 shows that 98% of radiographs were reported within 28 days in quarter four of 2025/26.