East of England

Private healthcare in St Albans

Prices hospitals near St Albans publish, and how long NHS waits are locally.

Prices checked 9 Nov 2026

Treatments with prices
10
at 20 hospitals within 25 miles
Nearest hospital with prices
5.4 miles
Spire Harpenden Hospital, Harpenden
NHS trauma and orthopaedics wait so far
17 weeks
half had waited longer at West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals (August 2026)
Time waited so far by people on the list, not a forecast.

In short

St Albans is in the area of NHS Central East Integrated Care Board. The NHS figures on each page are for the nearest trusts in that area.

Treatments near St Albans

The lowest price published within 25 miles. Open a treatment to see every price, what it includes and the NHS wait.

Cheapest and nearest, treatment by treatment

Hip replacement: lowest £12,550 at The Kings Oak Hospital (11 miles); nearest Spire Harpenden Hospital (5.4 miles) at from £18,190. UK median £15,500.

Knee replacement: lowest £11,195 at The London Independent Hospital (20 miles); nearest Spire Harpenden Hospital (5.4 miles) at from £17,731. UK median £16,235.

Knee arthroscopy: lowest £4,476 at The Kings Oak Hospital (11 miles); nearest Spire Harpenden Hospital (5.4 miles) at from £5,119. UK median £4,683.

Carpal tunnel surgery: lowest £1,735 at The Kings Oak Hospital (11 miles); nearest Spire Harpenden Hospital (5.4 miles) at from £2,986. UK median £2,705.

Hernia repair: lowest £3,449 at Practice Plus Group Hospital, Ilford (22 miles); nearest Spire Harpenden Hospital (5.4 miles) at from £3,733. UK median £4,011.

Cataract surgery: lowest from £2,000 at Optical Express - London (White City) Hospital (18 miles); nearest Spire Harpenden Hospital (5.4 miles) at from £3,231. UK median £2,995.

MRI scan: lowest £430 at Spire Thames Valley Hospital (18 miles); nearest Spire Harpenden Hospital (5.4 miles) at £595. UK median £545.

CT scan: lowest from £360 at scan.com (booking service) (19 miles); nearest Spire Harpenden Hospital (5.4 miles) at £860. UK median £758.

Colonoscopy: lowest £2,205 at The Kings Oak Hospital (11 miles); nearest Spire Harpenden Hospital (5.4 miles) at from £2,747. UK median £2,917.

Gastroscopy: lowest £1,869 at The Kings Oak Hospital (11 miles); nearest Spire Harpenden Hospital (5.4 miles) at from £2,200. UK median £2,300.

NHS waits near St Albans

Trauma and orthopaedics: half of the 5,047 people waiting at West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust had waited 16.9 weeks or less (August 2026), against 13.9 weeks across England; 108 had waited over a year.

General surgery: half of the 3,380 people waiting at West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust had waited 16.4 weeks or less (August 2026), against 12.8 weeks across England; 64 had waited over a year.

Ophthalmology: half of the 3,227 people waiting at West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust had waited 14.4 weeks or less (August 2026), against 10.4 weeks across England; 33 had waited over a year.

MRI: 96.1% of the 1,598 people waiting at West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust had waited under six weeks (August 2026), against 78.0% across England.

CT: 100.0% of the 1,310 people waiting at West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust had waited under six weeks (August 2026), against 88.8% across England.

Endoscopy: 86.3% of the 2,545 people waiting at West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust had waited under six weeks (August 2026), against 69.6% across England.

These figures cover everyone already on the list and show time waited so far, not how long a new referral will take.

About St Albans

St Albans had 75,540 residents in the 2021 Census and the NHS Central East NHS area.

The 20 hospitals with published prices within 25 miles belong to Circle Health Group (10), Spire Healthcare (4), Ramsay Health Care UK (2), Optegra (1), Optical Express (1), scan.com (booking service) (1), Practice Plus Group (1). 18 of them are rated Good or Outstanding by CQC, and 2 are within 10 miles.

5 to 10 miles of central St Albans: Spire Harpenden Hospital (5.4 miles), Spire Bushey Hospital (8.1 miles).

10 to 25 miles of central St Albans: The Kings Oak Hospital (11 miles), Bishops Wood Hospital (11 miles), The Cavell Hospital (11 miles), Optegra London (12 miles), Hendon Hospital (12 miles), The Clementine Churchill Hospital (13 miles), Pinehill Hospital (14 miles), The Chiltern Hospital (17 miles), Optical Express - London (White City) Hospital (18 miles), Spire Thames Valley Hospital (18 miles), Syon Clinic (19 miles), scan.com (booking service) (19 miles), Spire London East Hospital (19 miles), Rivers Hospital (20 miles), The London Independent Hospital (20 miles), The Shelburne Hospital (21 miles), Practice Plus Group Hospital, Ilford (22 miles), The Blackheath Hospital (24 miles).

NHS trusts used for the waiting figures: West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (8.1 miles), Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (12 miles).

By population, St Albans is number 15 of the 175 towns and cities with 5,000 or more residents in the East of England.

Registered clinics within 10 miles

Independent places on the health regulator’s register within 10 miles of central St Albans, nearest first, whether or not they publish prices. Ratings are for the whole location.

11 independent hospitals registered for surgery: One Hatfield Hospital, Hatfield (3.8 miles, good), One Stop Doctors T/A One Stop Healthcare, Hemel Hempstead (4.8 miles, good), Spire Harpenden Hospital, Harpenden (5.4 miles, good), and 8 more.
5 independent eye clinics and hospitals registered for surgery: Hertfordshire Newmedica Limited, Welwyn Garden City (6.4 miles, not yet rated), SpaMedica Watford, Watford (6.7 miles, good), Community Health and Eyecare Limited (CHEC - Watford), Watford (7.6 miles, requires improvement), and 2 more.
15 independent scanning and testing centres: Community Imaging Services Ltd, St. Albans (2.2 miles, good), One Hatfield Hospital, Hatfield (3.8 miles, good), One Stop Doctors T/A One Stop Healthcare, Hemel Hempstead (4.8 miles, good), and 12 more.
11 independent hospitals and units registered for endoscopy and other tests: One Hatfield Hospital, Hatfield (3.8 miles, good), One Stop Doctors T/A One Stop Healthcare, Hemel Hempstead (4.8 miles, good), Spire Harpenden Hospital, Harpenden (5.4 miles, good), and 8 more.

Hospitals with published prices

Where these figures come from

Prices: lowest and nearest published self-pay prices within 25 miles, read from each hospital’s own website on the date shown. Straight-line distances from the centre of St Albans.

Source: NHS England, Consultant-led Referral to Treatment Waiting Times, August 2026 data, published 8 October 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: NHS England, Monthly Diagnostics Waiting Times and Activity (DM01), August 2026 data, published 8 October 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Hospital details and ratings: CQC register (HSCA Active Locations, downloaded 9 November 2026), Open Government Licence v3.0.

How we check prices · Report a mistake

Independent. We’re not part of the NHS or any hospital, we’re not clinicians, and nothing here is medical advice. Hospitals can’t pay to appear or to change their position.