If you’re looking for hospitals and consultants performing private cataract surgery in the Liverpool area, you can find out all you need to know here.
Cataract surgery is a very common elective (planned) procedure in the UK. Although you can have cataract surgery on the NHS, many people choose to pay for private treatment. According to data from PHIN, there were more than 2,800 private cataract procedures carried out in the Liverpool area last year. Here we give an overview of what’s available in the area.
Cataract surgery options in and around Liverpool
PHIN has data for sixteen different hospitals offering private cataract surgery within 25 miles of Liverpool. Closest to Liverpool itself are the Spire Liverpool hospital and Spire Murrayfield Hospital, Wirral. These hospitals are both only around 20 minutes’ drive from the centre of Liverpool, and have free parking on site too. Independent hospitals are also located in St Helens, Ormskirk, Chester, Warrington and Bolton. There are two NHS hospitals in the region that offers private cataract surgery through an on-site Private Patient Unit – Arrowe Park Hospital and Warrington Hospital.
Last year, the hospital carrying out the most private cataract surgeries in the area was Nuffield Health, The Grosvenor Hospital in Chester. It may be useful to know that both Nuffield Health Grosvenor Hospital and Fairfield Independent Hospital in St Helens offer remote consultations. Fairfield Independent Hospital is extremely well-rated by patients, with a patient satisfaction score of 100% and The Beaumont Hospital, Bolton receives 99%.
From our data, there are 35 consultant surgeons performing cataract surgery at hospitals within 25 miles of Liverpool. Not all of the consultants have admissions data available. But of those who do, Mr Dan Nguyen and Mr Jonathan Bhargava have the highest number of admissions for private cataract surgeries in the area. There are often several consultants practising at a particular hospital. For instance, Spire Liverpool Hospital and Nuffield Health Grosvenor Hospital both have seven consultants who perform private cataract surgery. You can view our data for all the consultants performing private cataract surgery in this area on our website.
Cost of your initial consultation
If you’re thinking about cataract surgery, you’ll need an initial consultation with a surgeon first. They can assess your eyesight and discuss whether cataract surgery would be a good option for you. If you have private health insurance, the initial consultation might be covered, so do check this.
Our data shows the average initial consultation fee for cataract surgery in the Liverpool area to be around £180. This varies between consultants though. It ranges from £100 up to a maximum of £300. Fees for individual surgeons are listed on consultants’ profiles.
Self-funding cataract surgery
If you decide to go ahead with cataract surgery, there are two ways of paying for private treatment. The most common method for cataract surgery is to self-fund your treatment directly. You may be charged for this in two different ways.
- A ‘fee-per-service’ arrangement. This is the traditional way of paying for treatment. It means you’ll receive separate invoices from the surgeon, the anaesthetist and the hospital. You often won’t know the full costs until you receive the invoices – it can be difficult to get an exact price beforehand.
- An all-inclusive ‘package price’. With this option, you’ll be given a full guide price including all the fees, before undergoing treatment. Not all consultants and hospitals offer this.
All of the independent hospitals in and around Liverpool advertise guide package prices for cataract surgery on their websites. These range from £2,635 to £3,295, with an average cost of £2,839. Guide prices are approximations only. The actual price will vary depending on who your consultant is and any individual differences in your treatment. Do bear in mind that package prices can vary in what they cover too. Check whether the price you’re quoted includes the initial consultation fee, any tests you may need and any aftercare.
Hospitals often offer finance options to spread the cost of your treatment over a period of time. Ask the hospital where you’re seeking treatment whether this is available.
For more information about self-funding treatment, see our guide to self-pay.
Paying through insurance
The other way of paying for private treatment is through private medical insurance, or PMI. Most insurance policies cover cataract surgery, unless it’s a pre-existing condition. But it’s important to check with your own insurer exactly what they will cover and whether you will need to pay any excess. Read our guide on paying for treatment through insurance for more information.
Important notes
The information in this article is based on hospitals within 25 miles of the centre of Liverpool, and the consultants that treat private patients at each hospital. This is available to search through PHIN’s website. If a hospital or consultant is not searchable on our website, this may be because they are in breach of legal duties set out by the Competition and Markets Authority.
The data is based on PHIN’s data on patient admissions that took place between 1 October 2022 to 30 September 2023. The costs of initial consultant fees were provided directly by consultants to PHIN. Information on guide package prices was collected through an internet search of local hospitals.
This article was last updated on 19 March 2024, and some details may have changed since.
