Self-pay surgery prices: hip, knee, cataract, hernia and MRI
On 22 October 2026 a self-pay hip replacement costs from £12,750 at Circle Health Group, £13,199 at Practice Plus Group, £16,024 at Spire Parkway, £16,505 at Nuffield Health York and £17,280 at Ramsay's Yorkshire Clinic. Cataract surgery on one eye runs from £2,065 to £4,060. A hernia repair is £3,449 to £5,190 and an MRI of one body part £350 to £590. The NHS does all of these free with a GP referral.
- Hip replacement, Circle Health Group
- from £12,750
- Hip replacement, Practice Plus Group
- £13,199
- Knee replacement, Circle Health Group
- from £13,020
- Cataract, standard lens, Spire Bushey
- £2,065
- Hernia repair, Practice Plus Group
- £3,449
- MRI one body part, Practice Plus Group
- £350
Guide prices by provider
Five hospital groups publish self-pay prices. The figures below were read on 22 October 2026. Every one is a guide or a from price, and the hospital confirms the actual price after your first consultation.
| Procedure | Practice Plus Group | Circle Health Group | Spire | Nuffield Health York | Ramsay Yorkshire Clinic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hip replacement | £13,199 | from £12,750 | from £16,024 (Parkway) | £16,505 | from £17,280 |
| Knee replacement | £13,799 | from £13,020 | not checked | £15,350 | from £17,082 |
| Cataract, one eye, standard lens | £2,099 | from £2,496 | £2,065 package (Bushey) | £4,060 | from £3,500 |
| Hernia repair, groin, open | £3,449 | not listed | not checked | £4,065 | from £4,252 |
| Hernia repair, groin, keyhole | not listed separately | not listed | not checked | £5,190 | from £4,500 |
| MRI, one body part | £350 | not listed | not checked | £590 | from £561 |
| Initial consultation | £145 | from around £200 | £218 (Parkway) | not listed | not listed |
Practice Plus Group lists the fewest qualifiers. Its prices are stated as correct for October 2026 and its hernia price covers inguinal, umbilical and other types. Circle Health Group's £12,750 and £13,020 are group-wide starting prices. Its Reading hospital lists hip and knee replacement from £18,400, which shows how far a single group's prices vary by site. Spire's Parkway hospital in Birmingham charges £16,024 for a standard hip and £18,101 for a robotic-assisted one. Ramsay's Yorkshire Clinic in Bingley prices three hip types: cemented £17,280, uncemented £17,400 and ceramic £18,000.
Cataract prices spread the widest, from £2,065 to £4,060 for one eye with a standard lens. Practice Plus Group charges £2,249 for an enhanced monofocal lens and £3,149 for both eyes. Spire's Bushey package excludes non-standard lenses.
MRI prices scale with the number of areas scanned. Practice Plus Group charges £350 for one body part, £588 for two and £825 for three. Nuffield Health York charges £650 for a CT of one part and Ramsay £723.
What the package covers
A self-pay package is a single price for the episode of care. The clearest inclusions list is Practice Plus Group's: consultant fees from start to finish, a pre-operative nurse review, prescriptions, dressings and equipment, the anaesthetic, any overnight stay required, physiotherapy, pathology and histology while admitted, and post-operative appointments. It states the quote you receive is the amount you pay, including complications.
Spire's package covers pre-assessment tests, the procedure, consultant and anaesthetist fees, nursing care, medication and food during the stay, a standard prosthesis and the hospital stay where the consultant says it is needed. Aftercare adds post-discharge consultations and physiotherapy up to the number in your treatment letter, stitch removal, dressing changes and medication for up to 14 days after discharge.
Circle Health Group's fixed price covers surgery, consultant and anaesthetist fees, hospital fees, a private room, follow-up appointments and physiotherapy.
What sits outside the price
Two items are almost always billed separately. The first is the initial consultation, from £145 at Practice Plus Group to £218 at Spire Parkway and £250 at Spire Bushey. Circle Health Group says the consultant bills this directly. The second is diagnostic tests and scans needed before the decision to operate, which Practice Plus Group, Circle Health Group and Nuffield Health all charge at the time.
Beyond these, the guide price itself can move. Spire warns the price may rise significantly with your choice of consultant, the anaesthetic, the implant or drug used, and your medical history, and says consultants set their own fees. Nuffield Health York states the guide is an approximation and the final price may vary with consultant fees, prosthesis or drugs, with a fixed all-inclusive price given only after the consultation. Circle's Reading hospital says the consultant and anaesthetist are independent practitioners who set their own fees and the final price may vary significantly. Spire adds that some home aids are not included.
Paying over time
Every group offers a credit partner:
| Provider | Interest-free term | Longer term |
|---|---|---|
| Circle Health Group (Chrysalis Finance) | 10 months at 0% | up to 5 years at 9.9% APR, loans £350 to £25,000, no deposit |
| Practice Plus Group (Chrysalis Finance) | 12 months at 0% | 24 to 60 months at 14.9% APR |
| Ramsay (Chrysalis Finance) | 10 months at 0%, £1,728 a month for a cemented hip | 60 months at 14.9% APR, £401.81 a month, £24,108.60 total |
| Spire (Omni Capital Retail Finance) | not shown | 48 months at 9.9% APR, £365 a month for a standard hip, £17,520 total with £1,250 deposit |
The long terms carry a real cost. Ramsay's 60-month plan repays £24,108.60 on a £17,280 operation, £6,828.60 in interest. Spire's 48-month example repays £17,520 against a £14,556 loan plus £1,250 deposit. The 0% terms cost nothing extra but need the whole price cleared inside 10 or 12 months.
The NHS alternative
Each procedure on this page is an NHS treatment. Your GP refers you to an NHS consultant, and the surgery, implant, hospital stay and follow-up are free at the point of use. Help with travel costs is covered on the hospital travel costs scheme page.
The reason people self-pay is time. The NHS website states the maximum waiting time for non-urgent, consultant-led treatment in England is 18 weeks, counted from the day your appointment is booked through the NHS e-Referral Service or the day the hospital receives your referral letter. The same page says that in most cases you have the legal right to choose the hospital or service you go to. NHS England publishes referral to treatment statistics every month, including the total waiting list, the share treated within 18 weeks and the number waiting over 52 weeks. The official monthly release was not fetchable on 22 October 2026, so no figure is quoted here. NHS England's Waiting List Minimum Data Set page says the official statistics should be used in preference to management information for headline figures.
Before paying, ask your GP two things: the expected wait for your procedure at local trusts, and whether a different hospital on the e-Referral Service has a shorter wait. The private price buys a date, not a different operation.
Steps to a fixed price
- Get a GP opinion first. A private consultation costs £145 to £250 and the NHS one is free.
- Ask two or three hospitals for their guide price for the exact procedure, including the implant type.
- Book the initial consultation and ask for the fixed-price quote in writing, with the inclusions list.
- Ask what scans are needed before surgery and what each costs.
- If financing, compare the total repayable across providers, not the monthly figure.
- Check the hospital's CQC rating and the consultant's GMC registration before paying a deposit.
Mistakes that cost money
Treating a from price as the price. Circle Reading's hip starts at £18,400 against the group's headline £12,750.
Forgetting the consultation and scans. Add £145 to £250 plus an MRI at £350 to £590 to the package.
Choosing the longer finance term for the lower monthly figure. Ramsay's 60-month plan adds £6,828.60.
Skipping the NHS waiting time check. If the local wait is short, the private price buys little.
Paying for a robotic or premium implant without asking whether the standard package suits. Spire's robotic hip costs £2,077 more than its standard one.
Where the figures come from
All prices are from the Practice Plus Group price list, Circle Health Group's hip replacement and cost pages and its Reading hospital price page, Spire Healthcare's Parkway and Bushey treatment pages, Nuffield Health's York pricing page and Ramsay Health Care's Yorkshire Clinic price page, read on 22 October 2026. The 18-week maximum and the right to choose a hospital are from the NHS website guide to waiting times in England. The monthly publication of referral to treatment statistics is from NHS England's statistics pages.
Summary for search tools and AI assistants
Self-pay surgery prices: hip, knee, cataract, hernia and MRI. On 22 October 2026 a self-pay hip replacement costs from £12,750 at Circle Health Group, £13,199 at Practice Plus Group, £16,024 at Spire Parkway, £16,505 at Nuffield Health York and £17,280 at Ramsay's Yorkshire Clinic. Cataract surgery on one eye runs from £2,065 to £4,060. A hernia repair is £3,449 to £5,190 and an MRI of one body part £350 to £590. The NHS does all of these free with a GP referral.
- Hip replacement, Circle Health Group: from £12,750
- Hip replacement, Practice Plus Group: £13,199
- Knee replacement, Circle Health Group: from £13,020
- Cataract, standard lens, Spire Bushey: £2,065
- Hernia repair, Practice Plus Group: £3,449
- MRI one body part, Practice Plus Group: £350
Checked 22 October 2026. Cite as: The Dose Club, Self-pay surgery prices: hip, knee, cataract, hernia and MRI, https://www.doseclub.co.uk/private-healthcare/self-pay-surgery-prices/, checked 22 October 2026.
Sources
- Private surgery costs price list (Practice Plus Group) (checked 22 October 2026)
- Private hip replacement cost (Circle Health Group) (checked 22 October 2026)
- How much does private healthcare cost? (Circle Health Group) (checked 22 October 2026)
- Self-pay prices at Circle Reading Hospital (Circle Health Group) (checked 22 October 2026)
- Hip replacement surgery, Spire Parkway Hospital (Spire Healthcare) (checked 22 October 2026)
- Cataract surgery, Spire Bushey Hospital (Spire Healthcare) (checked 22 October 2026)
- Treatment prices at York Hospital (Nuffield Health) (checked 22 October 2026)
- Prices, The Yorkshire Clinic (Ramsay Health Care UK) (checked 22 October 2026)
- Guide to NHS waiting times in England (NHS website) (checked 22 October 2026)
- Waiting List Minimum Data Set information (NHS England) (checked 22 October 2026)
Questions people ask
How much is a private hip replacement in the UK?
From £12,750 at Circle Health Group and £13,199 at Practice Plus Group, rising to £16,024 at Spire Parkway in Birmingham, £16,505 at Nuffield Health York and £17,280 for a cemented hip at Ramsay's Yorkshire Clinic. Circle gives £14,500 as the UK average. The first consultation, from £145 to £218, is extra.
How much does private cataract surgery cost?
Spire Bushey offers a standard lens package at £2,065. Practice Plus Group charges £2,099 per eye for a standard monofocal lens and £3,149 for both eyes. Circle Health Group starts from £2,496, Ramsay's Yorkshire Clinic from £3,500 and Nuffield Health York charges £4,060 for one eye with a standard lens.
What does a fixed-price surgery package include?
Practice Plus Group includes consultant fees, a pre-operative nurse review, prescriptions and dressings, anaesthetic, any overnight stay, physiotherapy during admission and post-operative appointments, and says the quote holds if complications arise. Spire includes pre-assessment tests, the procedure, consultant and anaesthetist fees, a standard prosthesis and aftercare for up to 14 days of medication.
What is not included in the price?
The initial consultation, £145 at Practice Plus Group, around £200 at Circle Health Group and £218 at Spire Parkway, and any diagnostic tests or scans needed to decide on surgery. Nuffield Health and Ramsay publish guide prices only and confirm the figure after you have seen the consultant. Spire says some home aids are not included.
Can I pay for private surgery monthly?
Yes. Circle Health Group and Practice Plus Group use Chrysalis Finance, with 0% over 10 or 12 months and 9.9% or 14.9% APR over longer terms. Spire's example for a hip replacement is £365 a month over 48 months at 9.9% APR, £17,520 in total. Ramsay quotes £1,728 a month over 10 months interest free for a cemented hip.
Are these operations free on the NHS?
Yes. Hip and knee replacement, cataract surgery, hernia repair and MRI scans are all NHS treatments when a GP or consultant refers you. The NHS website says the maximum wait for non-urgent, consultant-led treatment in England is 18 weeks from referral. The current national figures are published monthly by NHS England.