How much is self-pay colonoscopy in the UK?

Published prices for self-pay colonoscopy run £2,558–£3,635 across 61 UK private hospitals that publish a figure: Spire Healthcare £3,005 (median of 34 hospitals); Nuffield Health £3,180 (median of 27 hospitals). Each operator defines its own inclusions, so the two are not directly interchangeable. No GP referral or private health insurance is required to pay for treatment yourself, and you can self-fund while remaining on the NHS waiting list.

How much does private colonoscopy cost in the UK?

Across the price lists Nuffield Health and Spire Healthcare publish for their own hospitals, colonoscopy runs £2,558–£3,635, with Spire Healthcare £3,005 (median of 34 hospitals); Nuffield Health £3,180 (median of 27 hospitals). The lowest published figure is £2,558 at Spire St Anthony's Hospital. What a price includes differs by operator — anaesthetist and consultant fees, prosthesis, drugs and follow-up are not always inside the headline number — so confirm the total in writing. Circle Health Group, Ramsay Health Care UK and HCA Healthcare also offer this procedure but are not included in these figures.

How long is the NHS wait for colonoscopy in the UK?

The current median NHS wait for colonoscopy (within the Gastroenterology specialty) in England is approximately 10 weeks. The 92nd percentile (long-tail) wait can extend to 31 weeks. Waits vary significantly by NHS trust — see the city breakdowns below for local figures.

Can I switch from NHS to private for colonoscopy?

Yes. You can self-fund or use private health insurance to access colonoscopy privately while remaining on the NHS waiting list. Many patients do this to avoid the long wait. Some private hospitals offer consultation packages where you can be assessed within days. You will not lose your NHS place by getting a private opinion or treatment.

Which cities have the shortest NHS waits for colonoscopy?

Based on the latest NHS England RTT data, the UK cities with the shortest median waits for gastroenterology (the specialty covering colonoscopy) include Sunderland (4 weeks), Cambridge (5 weeks), Middlesbrough (6 weeks), Newcastle upon Tyne (6 weeks), Liverpool (7 weeks). See the full city table below.

Is colonoscopy covered by private health insurance?

Most major UK health insurers (Bupa, AXA, Vitality, Aviva, WPA) cover colonoscopy on standard policies, subject to underwriting and policy terms. Pre-existing conditions are typically excluded. Always confirm coverage with your insurer before scheduling.

Colonoscopy cost UK: private from £2,558

Endoscopic examination of the large bowel, often with biopsy or polyp removal. Published private hospital prices run £2,558–£3,635 across 61 hospitals. The current NHS median wait is around 10 weeks.

Published private prices

£2,558–£3,635

61 hospitals, 2 operators — see medians

NHS median wait (England)

10 weeks

Specialty: Gastroenterology

Long-tail wait (92nd percentile)

31 weeks

136,458 patients waiting

According to TreatCompare analysis of NHS England RTT data, the current national median NHS wait for colonoscopy is approximately 10 weeks, while the 92nd percentile wait is approximately 31 weeks.

According to TreatCompare analysis of price lists published by Nuffield Health and Spire Healthcare, private colonoscopy runs £2,558–£3,635 across 61 hospitals: Spire Healthcare £3,005 (median of 34 hospitals); Nuffield Health £3,180 (median of 27 hospitals). Each operator's headline figure covers different things, so the two are reported separately rather than averaged.

According to TreatCompare analysis, users comparing colonoscopy should check local NHS wait by city or postcode before deciding whether private self-pay, insurance or staying on the NHS list is the better route.

TreatCompare NHS wait and private price model. NHS data month: Jul 2026.

Important context

NHS waiting-time figures are published at trust or specialty level. Private prices are read from individual hospitals’ own published price lists and cover two hospital groups rather than the whole private market; each operator defines its own inclusions, so their figures are shown separately and not averaged. Local eligibility, referral route, clinical urgency, provider package and insurance status can change the real-world choice. TreatCompare is for comparison only and is not medical, legal or financial advice.

Source type: Official NHS waiting-time data and private price model
Primary source: NHS England Referral to Treatment waiting-time data
Reporting period: Jul 2026
Last updated: 2026-09-11
Figure type: Mixed sources
Use: Research and comparison only

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What private hospitals publish for colonoscopy

61 hospitals across 2 operators publish a price for this procedure. Each operator’s figures are shown separately, against that operator’s own definition of what the price covers.

Operator	Median	Across its hospitals	Hospitals	What the figure covers
Spire Healthcare	£3,005	£2,558–£3,474	34	Guide price, includes consultant fee and initial consultation.Diagnostic colonoscopy — excludes therapeutic polyp removal.
Nuffield Health	£3,180	£2,766–£3,635	27	Guide price, excludes consultant fees, prosthesis and drugs.Diagnostic colonoscopy.

Why there is no single figure. These two operators define their headline price differently — Nuffield Health says its guide price excludes consultant fees, while Spire Healthcare’s includes a consultant fee and an initial consultation. Their published figures track each other closely across every procedure both price, but that is a pattern in the numbers, not a statement either company makes. Averaging them would imply a like-for-like comparison neither operator has confirmed.

Read from each operator’s own published price pages, 2026-10-05. Prices change and exclusions differ — confirm the total in writing with the hospital before booking. This covers two of the UK’s private hospital groups, not the whole private market.

UK private hospital scrape signals

Checked 19 private provider sources on 9 Sept 2026; 7 returned crawlable signals. 8 crawlable GBP price signals captured.

Provider	Signal	Captured value	Source
Ramsay Health Care UK - Ashtead Hospital	Price Bowel Examination (Colonoscopy) with removal of Tissue from £	£2,241	Provider page
Ramsay Health Care UK - Duchy Hospital	Price Bowel Examination (Colonoscopy) as Ambulatory from £	£2,600	Provider page
Ramsay Health Care UK - Fulwood Hall Hospital	Price Bowel Examination (Colonoscopy) with removal of Tissue from £	£2,306	Provider page
Ramsay Health Care UK - Mount Stuart Hospital	Price Colonoscopy from £	£2,498	Provider page
Ramsay Health Care UK - Mount Stuart Hospital	Price Colonoscopy and Gastroscopy from £	£3,439	Provider page
Ramsay Health Care UK - New Hall Hospital	Price Colonoscopy with Gastroscopy from £	£3,356	Provider page
Ramsay Health Care UK - North Downs Hospital	Price Bowel Examination (Colonoscopy) with removal of Tissue from £	£3,307	Provider page
Ramsay Health Care UK - Oaklands Hospital	Price Bowel Examination (Colonoscopy) from £	£1,755	Provider page

Help improve this dataset

Seen a different colonoscopy price?

Send the provider, price, inclusions and source date. We review submissions before publishing and use them to catch stale quotes, missing fees and better local options.

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Compare your route

Choose the right colonoscopy comparison route

People often start with the national price, then drill into a city, postcode area or referral route. These links keep that path visible from the top of the page.

Finance options

National overviewCurrentPrivate from £2,558 with NHS waits across England.Sunderland city pageA local NHS wait page with trust context and private price range.Postcode area pagesStart with a postcode area and move into outcode-level pages.Private GP referralCheck same-day GP and referral options before contacting hospitals.All NHS vs privateCompare other procedures if the patient is still researching options.

Decision paths

Compare colonoscopy waits, prices and next actions

These pages are most useful when visitors move from the national benchmark into a local wait, private price range, referral route or price-update action.

Check NHS wait in your areaStart with Sunderland, then compare other cities.See published prices£2,558–£3,635 across 61 hospitals, with each operator's median.Use postcode pagesMove from postcode area to outcode-level NHS wait context.Compare referral routesPrivate GP and referral-letter options before contacting hospitals.Submit a price updateSend a hospital quote or updated provider fee.Ask for verificationRequest editorial or reviewer checking for this page.

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NHS wait by city — fastest first

City	Median wait	Compare locally
Sunderland	4 weeks	See Sunderland →
Cambridge	5 weeks	See Cambridge →
Middlesbrough	6 weeks	See Middlesbrough →
Newcastle upon Tyne	6 weeks	See Newcastle upon Tyne →
Liverpool	7 weeks	See Liverpool →
Exeter	7 weeks	See Exeter →
Leeds	8 weeks	See Leeds →
Bristol	8 weeks	See Bristol →
Derby	8 weeks	See Derby →
London	9 weeks	See London →
Milton Keynes	9 weeks	See Milton Keynes →
Coventry	9 weeks	See Coventry →
Reading	10 weeks	See Reading →
Southampton	10 weeks	See Southampton →
Sheffield	10 weeks	See Sheffield →
Brighton	10 weeks	See Brighton →
Plymouth	10 weeks	See Plymouth →
Bradford	11 weeks	See Bradford →
Norwich	11 weeks	See Norwich →
Oxford	11 weeks	See Oxford →
Portsmouth	11 weeks	See Portsmouth →
Manchester	12 weeks	See Manchester →
York	12 weeks	See York →
Stoke-on-Trent	13 weeks	See Stoke-on-Trent →
Leicester	14 weeks	See Leicester →
Birmingham	15 weeks	See Birmingham →
Blackpool	15 weeks	See Blackpool →
Hull	16 weeks	See Hull →
Nottingham	16 weeks	See Nottingham →
Preston	20 weeks	See Preston →

Looking for colonoscopy waits by postcode?

We also publish wait times by postcode area, mapped to the NHS trust most likely to accept your GP referral.

See colonoscopy by postcode area →

All English cities

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