Eye surgery · Chester
Cataract surgery in Chester: what it costs, and the NHS wait
Prices checked 9 Nov 2026
Cheapest nearby
from£2,000
Optical Express - Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool · 16 miles away
Typical price
£2,966
The middle of 8 published cataract surgery prices within 25 miles.
NHS wait so far
11 weeks
Half the people on the ophthalmology list at Countess of Chester Hospital had waited longer than this (August 2026).
Time waited so far by everyone on the list. It can’t tell you your own wait.
Prices near Chester
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Optical Express - Liverpool Hospital
Liverpool · 16 miles 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 - Liverpool Hospital Stage In the price? As published Initial consultation Included Free -
Circle Cheshire Clinic
Northwich · 18 miles away
£2,035Cataract removal & lens implant - one eye
What’s included: Circle’s guide price. Circle says it covers your first consultation, the operation and care after you go home (first consultation £200). Not included: tests before treatment. Circle confirms the final price after your consultation.
Price breakdown, as published
Published price breakdown, Circle Cheshire Clinic Stage In the price? As published Initial consultation Included £200 Diagnostic Investigations Not included Not included Main treatment Included £1,835 · Not included Post discharge care Included Included · Included -
Fairfield Independent Hospital
St. Helens · 21 miles away
£2,420Cataract removal & lens implant - one eye
What’s included: Circle’s guide price. Circle says it covers your first consultation, the operation and care after you go home (first consultation £220). Not included: tests before treatment. Circle confirms the final price after your consultation.
Price breakdown, as published
Published price breakdown, Fairfield Independent Hospital Stage In the price? As published Initial consultation Included £220 Diagnostic Investigations Not included Not included Main treatment Included £2,200 · Included Post discharge care Included Included · Included -
Spire Liverpool Hospital
Liverpool · 13 miles away
from£2,944Cataract 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 £193 on top.
Price breakdown, as published
Published price breakdown, Spire Liverpool Hospital Stage In the price? As published Initial consultation Included £193 Treatment Included from £2,751 Aftercare Included Included -
Spire Yale Hospital
Wrexham · 11 miles away
from£2,988Cataract 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 £187 on top.
Price breakdown, as published
Published price breakdown, Spire Yale Hospital Stage In the price? As published Initial consultation Included £187 Treatment Included from £2,801 Aftercare Included Included -
Spire Murrayfield Hospital Wirral
Wirral · 13 miles away
from£3,171Cataract 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 £200 on top.
Price breakdown, as published
Published price breakdown, Spire Murrayfield Hospital Wirral Stage In the price? As published Initial consultation Included £200 Treatment Included from £2,971 Aftercare Included Included -
Nuffield Health Chester Hospital
Chester · 1.0 miles away
£3,255Cataract 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 Chester Hospital Stage In the price? As published Diagnostic Investigations Not included Charged separately Main treatment Included £3,255 -
Spire Cheshire Hospital
Warrington · 17 miles away
from£3,658Cataract 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 £208 on top.
Price breakdown, as published
Published price breakdown, Spire Cheshire Hospital Stage In the price? As published Initial consultation Included £208 Treatment Included from £3,450 Aftercare Included Included
Prices the hospitals publish on their own websites, not quotes. Nobody pays to be listed. Distances are straight-line miles from the centre of Chester.
Hospital by hospital
Nuffield Health Chester Hospital, Chester, 1.0 miles away (Nuffield Health; CQC Good, report December 2016). Cataract surgery £3,255 (tests before treatment not included), £1,255 above the local lowest.
Spire Yale Hospital, Wrexham, 11 miles away (Spire Healthcare; not yet rated by CQC). Cataract surgery from £2,988 (first consultation £187 included; aftercare included), £988 above the local lowest.
Spire Murrayfield Hospital Wirral, Wirral, 13 miles away (Spire Healthcare; CQC Good, report July 2022). Cataract surgery from £3,171 (first consultation £200 included; aftercare included), £1,171 above the local lowest.
Spire Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool, 13 miles away (Spire Healthcare; CQC Good, report October 2022). Cataract surgery from £2,944 (first consultation £193 included; aftercare included), £944 above the local lowest.
Optical Express - Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool, 16 miles away (Optical Express; not yet rated by CQC). Cataract surgery from £2,000, the lowest locally.
Spire Cheshire Hospital, Warrington, 17 miles away (Spire Healthcare; CQC Outstanding, report May 2017). Cataract surgery from £3,658 (first consultation £208 included; aftercare included), £1,658 above the local lowest.
Circle Cheshire Clinic, Northwich, 18 miles away (Circle Health Group; not yet rated by CQC). Cataract surgery £2,035 (first consultation £200 included; tests before treatment not included; aftercare included), £35 above the local lowest.
Fairfield Independent Hospital, St. Helens, 21 miles away (Circle Health Group; CQC Good, report January 2017). Cataract surgery £2,420 (first consultation £220 included; tests before treatment not included; aftercare included), £420 above the local lowest.
How the prices compare
Cataract surgery: 8 local prices span £1,658, from £2,000 to £3,658; the UK median across 187 published prices is £2,995. The nearest, Nuffield Health Chester Hospital, is £1,255 dearer than the cheapest.
Within 5 miles of central Chester: Nuffield Health Chester Hospital (1.0 miles).
10 to 25 miles of central Chester: Spire Yale Hospital (11 miles), Spire Murrayfield Hospital Wirral (13 miles), Spire Liverpool Hospital (13 miles), Optical Express - Liverpool Hospital (16 miles), Spire Cheshire Hospital (17 miles), Circle Cheshire Clinic (18 miles) and Fairfield Independent Hospital (21 miles).
Typical for cataract surgery: usually a day case.
Tip: count the journeys for the consultation, the procedure and follow-up when weighing a cheaper hospital further away.
Private or NHS?
- Cost. cataract surgery £2,000 to £3,658 at 8 hospitals. Free on the NHS.
- Wait. Countess of Chester Hospital: half had waited over 11 weeks; 9 in 10 within 34 weeks. England: 10 weeks.
Private hospitals usually ask for a referral letter or a consultation first. Not sure which is right for you? Your GP can refer you on the NHS and talk through your options.
The NHS wait near Chester
| NHS trust | Median wait | Under 18 weeks | Over a year | 9 in 10 within | On the list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust | 11.4 wks | 70.4% | 17 | 34 wks | 3,184 |
| Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust | 14.8 wks | 58.2% | 15 | 39 wks | 3,242 |
| England | 10.4 wks | 72.2% | 5,022 | 33 wks | 625,063 |
Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, 1.2 miles from Chester: 3,184 people on the ophthalmology list, 70.4% within 18 weeks, 17 over a year, nine in ten within 34 weeks.
Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, 15 miles from Chester: 3,242 people on the ophthalmology list, 58.2% within 18 weeks, 15 over a year, nine in ten within 39 weeks.
These figures cover everyone on the trust’s ophthalmology list, not only people waiting for cataract surgery, and describe time waited so far, not how long a new referral will take.
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. Month-by-month figures: Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust on Waiting Times UK, Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust on Waiting Times UK.
Other clinics nearby
The CQC register lists 6 independent eye clinics and hospitals registered with the CQC to do surgery within 16 miles: 2 outstanding, 1 good, 3 not yet rated. 0 of them publish a price we could check here; ask the others directly.
The 6 nearest
| Location | Distance | Rating (CQC) | Price shown above? |
|---|---|---|---|
| SpaMedica Chester | 2.1 miles | Not yet rated | No |
| Newmedica Community Ophthalmology Service | 5.1 miles | Not yet rated | No |
| SpaMedica Wirral | 14 miles | Good | No |
| SpaMedica Widnes | 14 miles | Outstanding | No |
| SpaMedica Liverpool | 15 miles | Outstanding | No |
| Ultralase Eye Clinics Limited - Liverpool | 15 miles | Not yet rated | No |
Questions to ask before booking
- Ask Circle Cheshire Clinic, Fairfield Independent Hospital and Nuffield Health Chester Hospital what tests before treatment would cost: their published breakdown lists them as not included.
- For cataract surgery, weigh Optical Express - Liverpool Hospital (16 miles) against Nuffield Health Chester Hospital (1.0 miles): the £1,255 saving comes with a longer trip, so ask each how many follow-up visits are included.
- Ask whether the price is per eye and which lens it includes.
Nearby
Cataract surgery in nearby places
- Liverpool 15 miles
- Bolton 33 miles
- Stoke-on-Trent 34 miles
- Telford 39 miles
- Preston 41 miles
- Wolverhampton 52 miles
- Lancaster 60 miles
- Bradford 62 miles
Other treatments near Chester
Where these figures come from
Prices: from each hospital’s own price page and breakdown on the date shown next to each price. We store the price, what the page says it includes, the link and the date.
Each hospital group describes its prices differently (guide prices, fixed packages or “from” prices), so read what’s included before comparing totals.
Clinic details and ratings: CQC register (HSCA Active Locations, downloaded 9 November 2026), Open Government Licence v3.0. A rating describes the whole location, not one treatment.
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. Month-by-month figures: Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust on Waiting Times UK, Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 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.
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.