Compare prices

Cataract surgery · Bristol

cataract surgery in Bristol: what it costs, and the NHS wait

Prices checked 9 Nov 2026

  • Cheapest nearby

    from£2,000

    Optical Express - Bristol Hospital, Bristol · under 1 mile away

  • Typical price

    £2,719

    The middle of the 6 published prices within 25 miles.

    Range £2,000 to £5,631.

  • NHS wait in Bristol

    9 weeks

    Half the people on the NHS eye care list at Bristol had waited longer than this so far (August 2026).

    Covers all eye care, not only cataracts.

In short

None of the Bristol providers we profile publishes a price for cataract surgery that we could verify, so this page shows “price on request”. Checked 9 November 2026.

In August 2026, half of the 7,138 people on Bristol NHS Foundation Trust’s waiting list for NHS eye care (ophthalmology) had waited 8.8 weeks or less, and 75.9% had waited under 18 weeks, against 72.2% across England.

The health regulator (CQC) lists 104 independent healthcare places in Bristol, including 7 with overnight beds and 13 diagnostic or screening services.

Where to get cataract surgery near Bristol

Sort by

  • Optical Express - Bristol Hospital

    Bristol · under 1 mile away

    from£2,000cataract surgery (per eye)

    What’s included: A “from” price per eye. Optical Express says the first consultation is free. Check with the clinic what’s included for your lens choice.

    Price breakdown, as published
    Published price breakdown, Optical Express - Bristol Hospital
    StageIn the price?As published
    Initial consultationIncludedFree

    checked 9 Nov 2026

  • Practice Plus Group Hospital, Emersons Green

    Bristol · 6 miles away

    £2,099cataract surgery – standard monofocal lens

    What’s included: A fixed treatment price. The first consultation costs £145 on top; Practice Plus says that includes a nurse assessment, any blood tests and swabs needed, and an X-ray if required.

    Price breakdown, as published
    Published price breakdown, Practice Plus Group Hospital, Emersons Green
    StageIn the price?As published
    Initial consultationNot included£145 (charged separately)

    Health regulator (CQC) rating: Good · checked 9 Nov 2026

  • Practice Plus Group Hospital, Shepton Mallet

    Shepton Mallet · 18 miles away

    £2,099cataract surgery – standard monofocal lens

    What’s included: A fixed treatment price. The first consultation costs £145 on top; Practice Plus says that includes a nurse assessment, any blood tests and swabs needed, and an X-ray if required.

    Price breakdown, as published
    Published price breakdown, Practice Plus Group Hospital, Shepton Mallet
    StageIn the price?As published
    Initial consultationNot included£145 (charged separately)

    Health regulator (CQC) rating: Good · checked 9 Nov 2026

  • Spire Cardiff Hospital

    Cardiff · 24 miles away

    from£3,339cataract surgery with eyesight correction

    What’s included: Spire’s fixed self-pay package. Spire says it covers tests before your operation, the surgeon’s and anaesthetist’s fees, nursing, medicines and food during your stay, and any standard implant, plus aftercare: follow-up appointments, stitches, dressings and up to 14 days of medicines. The first consultation is £204 on top.

    Price breakdown, as published
    Published price breakdown, Spire Cardiff Hospital
    StageIn the price?As published
    Initial consultationIncluded£204
    TreatmentIncludedfrom £3,135
    AftercareIncludedIncluded

    checked 9 Nov 2026

  • Nuffield Health Bristol Hospital

    Bristol · 1 miles away

    £3,870cataract surgery - one eye - standard lens

    What’s included: Nuffield’s guide price for the treatment. Nuffield says tests before treatment are charged separately, and you get a fixed, all-inclusive price after your first consultation.

    Price breakdown, as published
    Published price breakdown, Nuffield Health Bristol Hospital
    StageIn the price?As published
    Diagnostic InvestigationsNot includedCharged separately
    Main treatmentIncluded£3,870

    Health regulator (CQC) rating: Good · checked 9 Nov 2026

  • Spire Bristol Hospital

    Bristol · 2 miles away

    from£5,631cataract surgery with eyesight correction

    What’s included: Spire’s fixed self-pay package. Spire says it covers tests before your operation, the surgeon’s and anaesthetist’s fees, nursing, medicines and food during your stay, and any standard implant, plus aftercare: follow-up appointments, stitches, dressings and up to 14 days of medicines. The first consultation is £250 on top.

    Price breakdown, as published
    Published price breakdown, Spire Bristol Hospital
    StageIn the price?As published
    Initial consultationIncluded£250
    TreatmentIncludedfrom £5,381
    AftercareIncludedIncluded

    Health regulator (CQC) rating: Good · checked 9 Nov 2026

Prices the hospitals and clinics publish on their own websites, not quotes. Nobody pays to be listed. Distances are straight-line miles from Bristol city centre.

Hospital list prices nearby

6 hospitals within 25 miles of Bristol publish a self-pay list price for cataract surgery, ranging from £2,000 to £5,631. They belong to Nuffield Health, Optical Express, Practice Plus Group and Spire Healthcare. These are the hospitals’ own published figures, read from each source page on 9 November 2026; what a list price covers differs between groups.

Optical Express - Bristol Hospital (Bristol), in the city itself, lists cataract surgery (per eye) from £2,000; it has no published CQC rating yet.

Nuffield Health Bristol Hospital (Bristol), in the city itself, lists cataract surgery - one eye - standard lens at £3,870; CQC rates the hospital good (report published September 2026).

Spire Bristol Hospital (Bristol), in the city itself, lists cataract surgery with eyesight correction from £5,631; CQC rates the hospital good (report published June 2022).

Practice Plus Group Hospital, Emersons Green (South Gloucestershire), about 6 miles from the centre of Bristol, lists cataract surgery – standard monofocal lens at £2,099; CQC rates the hospital good (report published October 2026).

Practice Plus Group Hospital, Shepton Mallet (Somerset), about 18 miles from the centre of Bristol, lists cataract surgery – standard monofocal lens at £2,099; CQC rates the hospital good (report published June 2023).

Spire Cardiff Hospital (Cardiff), about 24 miles from the centre of Bristol, lists cataract surgery with eyesight correction from £3,339; it has no published CQC rating yet.

Private or NHS?

  • Cost. Free on the NHS. Privately £2,000 to £5,631 across 6 published prices within 25 miles.
  • Wait. Half the people on the NHS eye care waiting list at Bristol had waited longer than 9 weeks so far (August 2026).

Not sure which is right for you? Your GP can refer you on the NHS and talk through your options.

The NHS wait for eye care

NHS waiting figures
8.8 wksmedian wait so far for NHS eye care at Bristol NHS Foundation Trust (August 2026)
10.4 wksthe median across England

At Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, 0 of the 7,138 people waiting had waited more than a year, and nine in ten had waited 31 weeks or less.

Ophthalmology covers all eye conditions, not only cataracts. NHS England does not publish cataract waits separately. Source: NHS England, Consultant-led Referral to Treatment Waiting Times, August 2026 data, published 8 October 2026. Open Government Licence v3.0. See the full local picture on Waiting Times UK.

Where else to look in Bristol

These 2 providers in the Bristol area are on the CQC register. We list providers alphabetically and say why each is listed. Nobody pays to appear.

  • CQC: Good

    Nuffield Health Bristol Hospital - The Chesterfield

    The Chesterfield, 3 Clifton Hill, Bristol, Avon BS8 1BN

    Hospital registered for surgical procedures. Cataract surgery not confirmed: ask.

    Registered 2013 · rated Sep 2026

  • CQC: Good

    Spire Bristol Hospital

    The Glen, Redland Hill, Durdham Down, Bristol BS6 6UT

    Hospital registered for surgical procedures. Cataract surgery not confirmed: ask.

    Registered 2010 · rated Jun 2022

6 other registered clinics in Bristol that may be relevant

Their names and registrations suggest they may be relevant. We haven’t checked their services or prices.

Before you book

Ask whether a quote is per eye, which lens it includes and whether the assessment and follow-up checks are in the price.

Read the full cataract surgery guide

More in Bristol and elsewhere

Where these figures come from

Prices: read from each provider’s own website on the date shown next to each price. We store the price, what the page says it includes, the link and the date.

Provider details are from the CQC register (downloaded 9 November 2026), under the Open Government Licence. A CQC rating describes the whole location, not a particular treatment.

Ophthalmology covers all eye conditions, not only cataracts. NHS England does not publish cataract waits separately. Source: NHS England, Consultant-led Referral to Treatment Waiting Times, August 2026 data, published 8 October 2026. Open Government Licence v3.0. See the full local picture on Waiting Times UK.

Typical price is the middle (median) of the published prices within 25 miles, shown only when there are at least four.

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.

Brick warehouses reflected in the water of Bristol’s Floating Harbour
Bristol’s Floating Harbour. Photo: Derek Harper, CC BY-SA 2.0, colour toned.