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Guides · Primary care

Private GP: what to expect

A private GP appointment is a paid consultation. It does not replace your NHS registration, and it is not a short cut into NHS hospital care.

Updated 9 Nov 2026

People book a private GP for speed, a longer slot, or a second opinion. The shape of the visit is familiar: you explain the problem, the doctor takes a history, examines you if needed, and discusses next steps. The difference is the bill, and what that bill does and does not include.

How long it lasts

Most providers sell short slots for a single concern and longer ones for anything more involved. Fifteen minutes is common for a focused problem. Thirty minutes is the usual step up. Some clinics offer an hour for a first visit or a complex history. Phone and video slots are widely sold and are often cheaper than sitting in a consulting room.

Arrive knowing what you want to cover. A short slot is easily used up by one issue plus a prescription query. If you have several concerns, say so when you book so the clinic can offer a longer appointment.

What the fee usually covers

On our private GP prices page, the published self-pay figures we checked on 9 November 2026 ranged from £59 for a 15-minute remote appointment to £89 for a 15-minute face-to-face slot at named Bupa centres. Longer slots cost more. Those figures come from the provider’s own price pages, not from quotes.

The consultation fee normally covers the doctor’s time and the clinical note of that visit. Blood tests, scans, referral letters, follow-up appointments and any private prescription are usually charged separately. Medicines you collect from a pharmacy are paid at the pharmacy’s private price, not the NHS prescription charge.

Ask before you book:

  • How long is the slot, and is a longer one advised for a first visit?
  • What happens if the GP suggests a test: who takes the sample, what it costs, and how the result reaches you?
  • Can the GP write to your NHS practice with the outcome, and is there a fee for that letter?
  • Is the appointment with a GP on the General Medical Council register, and is the clinic registered with the Care Quality Commission in England?

Checking who you see

Every doctor practising in the UK must be on the General Medical Council’s medical register, which is free to search. Clinics that provide doctors’ consultations in England must be registered with the Care Quality Commission; each clinic profile on this site links to its CQC page where we have one.

Private GP and the NHS

A private appointment is a one-off service. Providers such as Bupa advise patients to stay registered with an NHS practice so the full record sits in one place. A private GP can usually refer you to private specialists. Direct referral into NHS hospital care from a private GP is generally not available; the private GP can, with your permission, write to your NHS GP, who decides on any NHS referral.

On the NHS side, 45% of GP practice appointments in England in September 2026 took place on the day they were booked, according to NHS England’s Appointments in General Practice statistics published 29 October 2026. That figure measures time from booking to appointment in practice systems, not how long someone waited after first trying to get through.

Not medical advice. This guide covers process, cost and how the NHS and private routes are organised. It does not say whether you need a test or treatment. Decisions about your care sit with you and a clinician who knows your history.

Not affiliated with the NHS. The Doctor is an independent publication. It is not part of, or endorsed by, the NHS, the Care Quality Commission or any provider listed. See our full notice.

Published prices: Private GP prices. How we work: methodology.

Sources checked for this guide