Private GP appointment prices in the UK

What you pay for an appointment

Private GP fees are set by appointment length and by whether you see the doctor in person. On 22 October 2026 the published prices were:

Bupa's page shows two sets of face-to-face prices. The main table gives £89, £159, £225 and £280 for 15, 30, 45 and 60 minutes, and the FAQ on the same page gives £79, £140, £200 and £250. The higher set is used here. Confirm the price at booking. Bupa also sells a GP subscription with 15-minute appointments from £15 a month, and Practice Plus Group charges £49 for a follow-up.

Nuffield Health sets prices per hospital. The group page gives no national price and says fees vary by clinic, with a standard 20-minute appointment. The York figures are one hospital's published rates.

What the fee includes

The fee buys the doctor's time and whatever the doctor can do within it. Spire lists the consultation, a private prescription where appropriate, a referral to a consultant where appropriate, referrals for scans or X-rays, and an outcome letter with a copy sent to your NHS GP. Nuffield Health York includes a referral to secondary care in the £80 phone appointment. Bupa says the GP may suggest further tests, a private prescription or a referral, and recommends 30 or 45 minutes for a first visit, with 15 minutes reserved for repeat appointments or one minor concern.

Superdrug's £49 video appointment includes advice, a prescription where appropriate, referrals and fit notes, with most prescriptions ready for collection in about two hours.

What costs extra

Tests and scans are never in the appointment fee. Spire says blood tests, scans and ECGs are not included and that the GP explains the cost before any test is ordered. Nuffield Health York says further diagnostic procedures are invoiced separately by the hospital and takes card details on arrival to cover them. Private blood test prices are on the private blood test prices page.

Referrals to private consultants cost extra. Bupa says referring you to another service privately is an additional cost and Nuffield Health says consultant fees are charged separately.

Cancellation inside 24 hours costs the full fee at Bupa.

Prescriptions from a private GP

A private GP writes a private prescription. The provider does not charge for writing it. Bupa states it does not charge for giving out the prescription and that you pay for the medication separately at the pharmacy. Superdrug and Nuffield Health say the same in different words.

The medicine is where the cost lands. A private prescription is dispensed at the pharmacy's own price for the drug plus a dispensing fee. The £9.90 NHS prescription charge does not apply, because the prescription is not an NHS one. Bupa adds that the charge is variable and depends on the drug and the pharmacy, and does not publish drug costs. What pharmacies charge for private prescriptions is covered on the private prescription fees page.

Some prescriptions are off limits. Bupa GPs cannot prescribe controlled drugs. Spire excludes schedule 1 to 3 controlled drugs, repeat prescriptions unless its own GP started the treatment, and weight loss prescriptions. Nuffield Health excludes controlled drugs and most repeats. If you take a regular medicine, your NHS GP remains the cheaper source at £9.90 an item in England, or free in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

When a free option exists

Three free services cover much of what people pay a private GP for.

Pharmacy First in England lets a pharmacist supply prescription medicine without a GP appointment for seven conditions: impetigo and infected insect bites from age 1, earache from 1 to 17, sore throat from age 5, sinusitis from age 12, uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women aged 16 to 64, and shingles from age 18. The NHS prescription charge applies to any medicine supplied unless you are exempt. The Pharmacy First page explains how to use it.

Your NHS GP practice is free for everything else. The private appointment buys speed and length of time, not a different standard of care.

NHS 111 is free by phone and online for urgent problems that are not emergencies.

Steps to book a private GP

1. Decide whether a 10- or 15-minute remote call will do. For one simple problem it is the cheapest format, from £45 to £59.
2. Check whether the problem is on the Pharmacy First list. If it is, the pharmacy is free apart from the medicine.
3. Compare the fee against the length. Bupa's 30-minute remote call at £99 costs less than its 15-minute face-to-face visit at £89 plus a second visit.
4. Ask before booking what tests cost and whether a follow-up is charged at full price. Practice Plus Group charges £49 for a follow-up, Nuffield Health York £65.
5. Take a list of your regular medicines. The private GP cannot issue repeats for them in most cases.
6. Get the outcome letter copied to your NHS GP so any ongoing care stays free.

Mistakes that cost money

Booking a face-to-face slot for a problem a phone call would settle. At Bupa the gap is £30 for 15 minutes and £60 for 30 minutes.

Expecting the medicine at £9.90. Private prescriptions are charged at the pharmacy's own price.

Paying for a private GP to get a repeat of an NHS medicine. Most providers refuse, and the NHS GP issues the repeat free of a consultation fee.

Missing the 24-hour cancellation window. Bupa charges the full fee.

Where the figures come from

All prices were read on 22 October 2026 from the Bupa, Spire Healthcare, Nuffield Health, Superdrug, Practice Plus Group and Doctor Care Anywhere pages listed in the sources. The £9.90 NHS prescription charge is from the NHS website. Pharmacy First conditions and ages are from the NHS website page on how pharmacies can help.