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Paying for treatment in the UK

There are four ways a treatment can be paid for in the UK. For each treatment listed below, a route table sets out what each route covers, the wait and the price, with the page every figure was read from and the date. NHS waits are for England. Where nothing is published, the table says so rather than estimating.

The four routes

NHS

Treatment funded by the NHS. The wait shown is from NHS England’s own statistics: the referral-to-treatment waiting list for an operation, and the diagnostic waiting times for a scan or test. Where the NHS charges patients, as for dentistry and some sight tests, the charge is read from the NHS pages for each nation.

NHS-funded at an independent provider

Independent-sector providers, including private hospitals and community services, also treat NHS-funded patients. NHS England publishes their waits separately. These are NHS patients, not people paying for themselves, and the patient mix differs from NHS trusts, so the two are not like-for-like.

Private medical insurance

Explained here only as a mechanism: what decides cover and what a patient may still pay. No insurer, policy or premium is named, compared or priced, and what an insurer pays for a treatment is not published.

Self-pay

Paying the provider directly. Prices are each provider’s own published figure, listed side by side with what it covers. They are never merged into one “private cost”. No self-pay waiting time has been read for any provider.

10 of 11 operations listed here have a self-pay price that one hospital group publishes at 4 or more of its hospitals.

Treatments, A to Z

  • Bunion surgery

    An operation to correct a bunion (hallux valgus) at the base of the big toe.

  • Carpal tunnel release

    An operation to relieve pressure on the median nerve at the wrist.

  • Cataract surgery

    Replacing the clouded lens of the eye with an artificial lens.

  • Colonoscopy

    A camera examination of the large bowel.

  • CT scan

    A computed tomography scan. The self-pay rows are for one body area.

  • Dental treatment

    Treatment from a dentist: check-ups, fillings, root canals, crowns and dentures.

  • Echocardiogram

    An ultrasound scan of the heart. The self-pay rows are for a standard resting echocardiogram.

  • Eye test

    A sight test at an optician.

  • Gallbladder removal

    Removal of the gallbladder (cholecystectomy), usually by keyhole surgery.

  • Gastroscopy

    A camera examination of the oesophagus, stomach and first part of the small bowel.

  • Hearing assessment

    An audiology assessment of hearing. Fitting a hearing aid is a separate step.

  • Hernia repair

    An operation to repair a hernia. The self-pay rows name the exact repair each operator prices.

  • Hip replacement

    Replacing a damaged hip joint with an artificial one.

  • Hysterectomy

    An operation to remove the womb.

  • IVF

    In vitro fertilisation: eggs are fertilised outside the body and an embryo is transferred.

  • Knee replacement

    Replacing a damaged knee joint with an artificial one.

  • MRI scan

    A magnetic resonance imaging scan. The self-pay rows are for one body area.

  • Shoulder arthroscopy

    Keyhole surgery inside the shoulder joint.

  • Tonsillectomy

    An operation to remove the tonsils.

  • Ultrasound scan

    A diagnostic (non-pregnancy) ultrasound scan. The self-pay rows are for one product, an abdominal ultrasound, because ultrasound types are priced separately.

  • Varicose vein treatment

    Treatment to close or remove varicose veins in the legs.

  • X-ray

    A plain X-ray. The self-pay rows are for one body area.

Sources

This page presents published data. It does not recommend a route, a provider or an insurer.