Dementia patients risk missing out on timely diagnosis and breakthrough drugs due to critical shortage of brain scanners

Detailed summary

The UK has the lowest rate of MRI, CT and PET scanners among 16 comparable developed economies and those it does have are unevenly distributed across the country.

Published: 22:00 GMT, 15 November 2026 | Updated: 22:03 GMT, 15 November 2026

Dementia patients risk missing out on a timely diagnosis and breakthrough drugs because of a critical shortage of brain scanners.

The machines are used to diagnose the disease and to check eligibility for cutting–edge treatments that can slow its progression for years.

But new analysis by Alzheimer's Society reveals the UK has the lowest rate of MRI, CT and PET scanners among 16 comparable developed economies and those it does have are unevenly distributed across the country.

The UK is lagging so far behind that it would need an additional 1,800 scanners to simply match France, which comes second bottom, the charity says.

The latest NHS figures show England has 1,472 MRI and CT scanners, which equates to 23 for every one million people.

But the rate varies almost three–fold between NHS areas, creating a postcode lottery of care.

Staffordshire and Stoke–On–Trent has the fewest scanners, with just 13 per one million people, while North Central London has the most at 35 per one million people.

Brain scans are a crucial part of a dementia diagnosis as they help clinicians investigate changes in the brain and rule out other causes of symptoms.

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