Diagnostics delivery: How Magentus supports the NHS Medium-Term Planning Framework
The NHS England Medium-Term Planning Framework 2026–2029 sets out a vision for transforming how care is delivered.
With targets like treating 92 per cent of patients within 18 weeks, reducing diagnostic waits to under six weeks for 99 per cent of patients, and treating 85 per cent of cancer patients within 62 days, the Framework demands fundamental change.
Central to this transformation is diagnostics: the scans, tests, and investigations that underpin quick treatment.
And at the heart of diagnostics, Magentus is already delivering the networked digital tools that enable NHS teams to meet their goals.
Collaboration Key to Care
The Framework makes clear that the delivery of healthcare cannot be siloed.
It links care pathways and diagnosis, demanding the prioritisation of “close working and co-ordinated support” across diagnostic networks.
This requires accelerating the transition to a digital-by-default strategy, and more effective models of care throughout the NHS.
Delivering on this vision means uniting radiology and pathology solutions, a process that Magentus is well placed to support. With its Radiology Information System (Cris®) used by two-thirds of NHS Trusts and its Evolution vLab Laboratory Information Management System being implemented in major UK pathology networks, Magentus is already driving the twin engines of diagnosis.
Magentus’s diagnostic systems are developed to support interoperability, AI integration, and scalable data exchange.
This approach supports the Framework’s aim for more joined-up, efficient, and digitally enabled care.
Breaking Down Silos: A New Model for NHS Diagnostics
Magentus’s Cris RIS is helping Imaging Networks deliver cross-site image sharing as Trusts become better connected. Similarly, Evolution vLab enables lab networks to act as virtual hubs, routing tests to wherever capacity exists and returning results seamlessly.
These systems help NHS staff share images and test results more easily, supporting the Framework’s aims to improve access, reduce delays, and maximise access to diagnostics in community care.
Reducing diagnostic waiting times is a key target of the Framework.
Magentus supports the reduction of diagnostic waiting times by enabling rapid sharing of imaging and laboratory results across NHS networks, streamlining workflows through interoperable systems and automation, and providing tools that help NHS teams manage demand and prioritise patient care more efficiently.
Facilitating Workforce Efficiency
The Framework acknowledges that workforce expansion in and of itself cannot match rising demand.
It calls for 2 per cent annual rises in productivity through smarter working and digital transformation.
Magentus brings this vision to life through enabling shared reporting among hospitals, allowing radiologists to access and read images from anywhere within a network.
Similarly, its LIMS allows for automated result verification and collaboration across labs.
Sharing these efficiencies reduces burnout, smooths out workloads, and allows continuity of care even when local teams are overwhelmed.
AI integrations that flag critical abnormalities on X-rays also support clinicians by acting as digital assistants.
Data, AI, and the Federated Future
The Framework’s Digital Agenda is ambitious.
Starting from 2028/29, all providers will be expected to join the NHS Federated Data Platform, mandating unified data sharing and analytics, thus making it easier to share information securely between organisations.
Magentus is preparing its systems to support open data formats so that information, whether from a CT scan or a blood test, can be shared with national NHS platforms as required.
This approach is intended to ensure that data can be analysed and used to inform system-wide transformation supporting better decision-making and patient care.
Real-World Impact: Magentus delivering NHS Diagnostics
Magentus’s diagnostic systems are widely used to support NHS imaging and laboratory services across the UK.
In the Cheshire and Merseyside region, both the Cris RIS and Evolution vLab LIMS are in place, helping local teams manage imaging and pathology workflows.
In Scotland, Magentus holds the national LIMS contract and provides RIS to several major hospitals, including Glasgow, one of the busiest imaging centres in the UK.
These systems are helping NHS staff access information quickly and work together more effectively, supporting the aims of the NHS Medium-Term Planning Framework.
Conclusion: A Partner for the NHS’s Future
The NHS Medium-Term Planning Framework is a welcome call to action.
It demands faster diagnoses, more effective use of resources, better use of data, and more connected care.
Achieving this will require not just new technologies, but strong collaboration and a willingness to adapt and learn together.
Working alongside NHS colleagues, Magentus is dedicated to helping realise the Framework’s goals, by using technology and data responsibly to improve care for patients now and in the future.
Marlen Suller, MD clinical diagnostic EMEA, Magentus, said Magentus is proud to collaborate with NHS teams to reduce friction, scale impact, and help deliver better healthcare.
“We know that delivering timely, accurate diagnoses makes a real difference to patients and staff.
“The Framework challenges all of us to think differently about how we use technology and data.
“We’re committed to supporting these changes with reliable digital tools that help build a more connected, efficient, and patient-centred NHS for the future.”
Learn more about Magentus at magentus.com
