A blitz on waiting times in one of Bradford's busiest hospital departments means tens of thousands of patients are being diagnosed more quickly.

Patients waiting for non-urgent radiology examinations, such as CT scans, barium meals and enemas - used to diagnosis a range of bowel disorders - are now being assessed up to ten times quicker than two years ago.

And with the news that Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is to get a second MRI scanner, the drive to slash waiting times looks set to gather momentum.

Dr Clive Kay, director of radiology, said: "There has been a great deal of hard work carried out by the department to mount an action plan designed to bring down waiting times.

"Thanks to this sustained skill, dedication and effort from every member of the team we have achieved significant results."

The trust's radiology department is one of the busiest in the country with more than 200,000 patients being seen every year.

Major inroads into waiting times have been achieved as a result of extra investment from Bradford's Primary Care Trusts, which commission its services, a successful recruitment drive and the introduction of new and innovative ways of working.

A key element has been a crackdown to reduce the number of patients who failed to attend appointments. Two years ago up to one in five people scheduled for a barium enema failed to attend, that is now as low as one in 20.

"The checks and phone calls we now make with patients ahead of their planned examination has resulted in many more attending and a significant decrease in waiting times, from a maximum of 22 weeks to just three weeks now," said Dr Kay.

Waits are also down from 32 weeks to three weeks for patients waiting for non-urgent barium meals; there is a drop from 29 weeks to four weeks for patients waiting for non-urgent ultrasounds and a wait of six weeks for patients needing non-urgent investigations of their arteries - down from 26 weeks.

With the introduction last year of a new CT scanning suite at BRI, waits for a CT scan have fallen from nine weeks to two.

Most urgent scans and investigations are now carried out within 24 hours.

Rose Stephens, the trust's director of hospital services, said: "Radiology plays a pivotal role in the diagnosis of a wide range of conditions.

"To have reduced waiting times in such a short period of time is a tremendous feat by the team.

"We look forward to building on this success in the future, especially when we can draw upon the capabilities and extra capacity generated by an additional MRI scanner."