Paying for tonsillectomy in the UK
An operation to remove the tonsils.
Each row is one way of paying: the NHS, the NHS paying an independent provider, private medical insurance, and paying the provider yourself. Every figure links to the page it was read from, with the date. NHS waits are for England; charges for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are shown where they have been read. Where nothing is published, the table says so.
How each route pays for tonsillectomy
| Route | What it covers | Wait | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NHS trust112 trusts, 555,641 people waiting | NHS treatment from the ear nose and throat waiting listThe wait is for the whole specialty list. NHS England publishes no per-procedure wait | 15.5 weeksmedian so far on the ear nose and throat list, England, August 2026; 92nd percentile 41.4 weeks | Not applicableNHS-funded. None of the NHS charges read (dental, prescription, sight test) applies to this |
|
| NHS-funded at an independent-sector provider54 providers, 33,675 people waiting. NHS-funded patients; not like-for-like with trusts | NHS-funded patients on the ear nose and throat list, treated by an independent-sector providerIncludes community providers as well as private hospitals. Not a self-pay wait | 13.5 weeksmedian so far on the ear nose and throat list, England, August 2026; 92nd percentile 39.8 weeks | Not applicableNHS-funded. None of the NHS charges read (dental, prescription, sight test) applies to this |
|
| Private medical insuranceExplained as a mechanism. No insurer or policy is named or compared | Not trackedSet per policy. This site does not read policies | Not trackedNo waiting time for insured patients has been read | Not publishedWhat an insurer pays, and any excess or shortfall, is set per policy | None for this row |
| Self-paySpire Healthcare | Adult tonsillectomy — excludes child and adenotonsillectomy pricesGuide price, includes consultant fee and initial consultation | Not trackedNo self-pay waiting time has been read for any provider | Published by 3 hospitals, too few for a medianEach hospital and its price is listed by name |
|
NHS waits are incomplete pathways: how long people still on the list have waited so far, from referral, not the time from referral to treatment. They are per specialty, because NHS England publishes no per-procedure wait. Independent-sector figures are NHS-funded patients, not self-pay.
Self-pay prices are each hospital group’s own figure, side by side with its own basis. They are not merged, because the groups do not price the same things.
Hospitals that publish a self-pay price
Too few hospitals publish this for a median, so each one is listed with its own figure. Read 5 October 2026.
- Spire Bristol Hospital (Spire Healthcare): £3,861. Adult tonsillectomy — excludes child and adenotonsillectomy prices. Guide price, includes consultant fee and initial consultation
- Spire Leicester Hospital (Spire Healthcare): £4,110. Adult tonsillectomy — excludes child and adenotonsillectomy prices. Guide price, includes consultant fee and initial consultation
- Spire Wellesley Hospital (Spire Healthcare): £4,425. Adult tonsillectomy — excludes child and adenotonsillectomy prices. Guide price, includes consultant fee and initial consultation
More on tonsillectomy
Sources
- NHS England RTT waiting times, provider extract, August 2026. Read 26 October 2026.
- Spire Healthcare published prices. Read 5 October 2026.
This page presents published data. It does not recommend a route, a provider or an insurer.