Eye surgery · Preston
Cataract surgery in Preston: what it costs, and the NHS wait
Prices checked 9 Nov 2026
Cheapest nearby
£2,035
The Beardwood Hospital, Blackburn · 7.8 miles away
Typical price
£2,420
The middle of 9 published cataract surgery prices within 25 miles.
NHS wait so far
9 weeks
Half the people on the ophthalmology list at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals 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 Preston
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The Beardwood Hospital
Blackburn · 7.8 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, The Beardwood Hospital 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 -
The Beaumont Hospital
Lostock Bolton · 16 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, The Beaumont Hospital 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 -
Lancaster Private Hospital
Lancaster · 19 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, Lancaster Private Hospital 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 -
The Highfield Hospital
Rochdale · 25 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, The Highfield Hospital 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 · 20 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 -
Optegra Preston
Preston · 3.2 miles away
£2,995Standard Cataract Treatment (per eye)
What’s included: A fixed price per eye. Optegra says the package includes a free consultation and eye tests, the surgery, and aftercare with follow-up appointments and any medicines needed; laser treatment for clouding (YAG) within one or two years if needed, depending on the package.
Price breakdown, as published
Published price breakdown, Optegra Preston Stage In the price? As published Surgery and follow-up aftercare Included -
Optegra Preston
Preston · 3.2 miles away
£3,695Enhanced Cataract Treatment (per eye)
What’s included: A fixed price per eye. Optegra says the package includes a free consultation and eye tests, the surgery, and aftercare with follow-up appointments and any medicines needed; laser treatment for clouding (YAG) within one or two years if needed, depending on the package.
Price breakdown, as published
Published price breakdown, Optegra Preston Stage In the price? As published Surgery and follow-up aftercare Included -
Fulwood Hall Hospital
Preston · 1.2 miles away
from£3,854Cataract Surgery
What’s included: Ramsay calls this a guide price (a “from” price). Its page doesn’t list what’s included, so check with the hospital.
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Oaklands Hospital
Salford · 25 miles away
from£4,347Cataract Surgery with Eyesight Correction as Inpatient
What’s included: Ramsay calls this a guide price (a “from” price). Its page doesn’t list what’s included, so check with the hospital.
Prices the hospitals publish on their own websites, not quotes. Nobody pays to be listed. Distances are straight-line miles from the centre of Preston.
Hospital by hospital
Fulwood Hall Hospital, Preston, 1.2 miles away (Ramsay Health Care UK; CQC Good, report August 2026). Cataract surgery from £3,854 (single guide figure, no breakdown), £1,819 above the local lowest.
Optegra Preston, Preston, 3.2 miles away (Optegra; not yet rated by CQC). Cataract surgery £2,995 (Standard Cataract Treatment (per eye)) or £3,695 (Enhanced Cataract Treatment (per eye)), £960 above the local lowest.
The Beardwood Hospital, Blackburn, 7.8 miles away (Circle Health Group; CQC Good, report February 2026). Cataract surgery £2,035 (first consultation £200 included; tests before treatment not included; aftercare included), the lowest locally.
The Beaumont Hospital, Lostock Bolton, 16 miles away (Circle Health Group; CQC Good, report June 2025). Cataract surgery £2,035 (first consultation £200 included; tests before treatment not included; aftercare included), the lowest locally.
Lancaster Private Hospital, Lancaster, 19 miles away (Circle Health Group; CQC Requires improvement, report October 2019). Cataract surgery £2,035 (first consultation £200 included; tests before treatment not included; aftercare included), the lowest locally.
Fairfield Independent Hospital, St. Helens, 20 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), £385 above the local lowest.
The Highfield Hospital, Rochdale, 25 miles away (Circle Health Group; CQC Outstanding, report August 2022). Cataract surgery £2,035 (first consultation £200 included; tests before treatment not included; aftercare included), the lowest locally.
Oaklands Hospital, Salford, 25 miles away (Ramsay Health Care UK; CQC Good, report July 2026). Cataract surgery from £4,347 (single guide figure, no breakdown), £2,312 above the local lowest.
How the prices compare
Cataract surgery: 9 local prices span £2,312, from £2,035 to £4,347; the UK median across 187 published prices is £2,995. The nearest, Fulwood Hall Hospital, is £1,819 dearer than the cheapest.
Within 5 miles of central Preston: Fulwood Hall Hospital (1.2 miles) and Optegra Preston (3.2 miles).
5 to 10 miles of central Preston: The Beardwood Hospital (7.8 miles).
10 to 25 miles of central Preston: The Beaumont Hospital (16 miles), Lancaster Private Hospital (19 miles), Fairfield Independent Hospital (20 miles), The Highfield Hospital (25 miles) and Oaklands Hospital (25 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 £2,035 to £4,347 at 8 hospitals. Free on the NHS.
- Wait. Lancashire Teaching Hospitals: half had waited over 9 weeks; 9 in 10 within 30 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 Preston
| NHS trust | Median wait | Under 18 weeks | Over a year | 9 in 10 within | On the list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | 9.2 wks | 78.8% | 2 | 30 wks | 3,649 |
| East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust | 11.8 wks | 67.2% | 4 | 36 wks | 4,340 |
| England | 10.4 wks | 72.2% | 5,022 | 33 wks | 625,063 |
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, 1.4 miles from Preston: 3,649 people on the ophthalmology list, 78.8% within 18 weeks, 2 over a year, nine in ten within 30 weeks.
East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, 10 miles from Preston: 4,340 people on the ophthalmology list, 67.2% within 18 weeks, 4 over a year, nine in ten within 36 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: Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on Waiting Times UK, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS 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 12 miles: 1 outstanding, 2 good, 3 not yet rated. 1 of them publish a price we could check here; ask the others directly.
The 6 nearest
| Location | Distance | Rating (CQC) | Price shown above? |
|---|---|---|---|
| SpaMedica Preston | 1.2 miles | Outstanding | No |
| Community Health and Eyecare Limited and Head Office (CHEC - Preston) | 1.9 miles | Good | No |
| Optegra Preston | 3.2 miles | Not yet rated | Yes |
| Ribble Valley Eye Clinic | 9.1 miles | Not yet rated | No |
| Lancashire Eye Clinic | 11 miles | Good | No |
| SpaMedica Blackpool | 12 miles | Not yet rated | No |
Questions to ask before booking
- Ask Fairfield Independent Hospital, Lancaster Private Hospital and The Beardwood Hospital what tests before treatment would cost: their published breakdown lists them as not included.
- Ask Fulwood Hall Hospital and Oaklands Hospital for an itemised quote, as their prices are published as a single figure.
- For cataract surgery, weigh The Beardwood Hospital (7.8 miles) against Fulwood Hall Hospital (1.2 miles): the £1,819 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
- Bolton 17 miles
- Lancaster 20 miles
- Liverpool 27 miles
- Bradford 38 miles
- Chester 41 miles
- Ripon 54 miles
- Stoke-on-Trent 59 miles
- Telford 75 miles
This page also covers 9 nearby places with the same hospitals and NHS trust: Lytham St Anne's, Bamber Bridge, Leyland, Fulwood, Penwortham, Longton, Kirkham, Tarleton and Hesketh Bank, Cottam.
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: Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on Waiting Times UK, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS 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.