To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the 20 week maximum wait for imaging scans from April has the status of a Government target; which imaging scans are included for the purposes of measuring success in meeting this maximum wait; and if she will make a statement. (103201)

No, the choice of scan initiative is not a target.

The national health service is working to the December 2008 referral-to-treatment target of 18 weeks. Intermediate stage-of-treatment milestones have been set such that diagnostic waits should be less than: -

26 weeks by March 2006 for MRI and CT scans;

13 weeks by March 2007 for all diagnostic tests; and

six weeks by March 2008 for all diagnostic tests.

The choice of scan initiative is designed to support delivery of these milestones by offering patients who do not have an appointment scheduled within a maximum time the choice of a scan at another provider within the maximum time. Phase 1: 26 weeks—applied to MRI and CT tests from November 2005. Phase 2: 20 weeks—has applied to all diagnostic imaging tests (including MRI, CT, ultrasound and DEXA) since April 2006. Phase 3: 13 weeks—will apply to all diagnostic imaging tests from April 2007.

The Department collects no specific data on choice of scan but the new national diagnostics data collection which started in January 2006, and associated census collections, show how waiting times for diagnostic tests are falling for example:

the number of waits of over 13 weeks for diagnostic imaging tests were 36,000 in September 2006 down from 68,000 in January 2006; and

the number of waits of over 26 weeks for diagnostic imaging tests were 4,900 in September 2006 down from 16,700 in January 2006.