There is no genuine private A&E in the UK. True emergencies — chest pain, stroke symptoms, major injury — always mean 999 and an NHS A&E. A handful of private urgent care centres, mostly in London, handle minor injuries and illness as walk-ins, typically charging £150–£300 for the initial assessment.
- ✓No UK private hospital runs a true A&E — life-threatening emergencies always go to the NHS via 999.
- ✓Private urgent care walk-ins typically cost £150–£300, before any X-rays or tests.
- ✓Most health insurance policies exclude emergency and urgent care visits.
Why there's no true private A&E
A real emergency department needs things almost no UK private hospital has: 24/7 resuscitation teams, intensive care beds in numbers, major trauma surgeons on site, stroke and heart attack pathways measured in minutes. Building and staffing that is enormously expensive, and the NHS already does it well. So private hospitals in the UK have never seriously tried to compete on emergency medicine — they focus on planned, elective care instead.
That's why every private hospital's own website tells you the same thing: if it's an emergency, call 999. It isn't small print — it's the honest limit of what the private sector offers. The NHS is brilliant at emergencies. The waiting problem sits almost entirely in planned care.
What does exist: private urgent care centres
A small number of private walk-in urgent care centres operate in the UK, heavily concentrated in London. Groups such as HCA Healthcare and Cleveland Clinic London run urgent care or 'walk-in' clinics attached to their hospitals, and a few independent clinics offer same-day GP-plus-minor-injury services. Outside London, provision is very thin — most cities have none at all.
These centres are typically open extended hours (some 8am–8pm, a few longer), staffed by doctors and nurses, with on-site X-ray and blood tests. Think of them as a well-equipped minor injuries unit with no queue — not a scaled-down A&E.
It's worth knowing the NHS comparison here too. NHS urgent treatment centres and minor injuries units handle exactly the same category of problem, free, and many run shorter queues than the main A&E next door. Where the private version earns its fee is predictability — a booked or near-immediate slot, a doctor rather than triage-then-wait, and same-visit imaging — plus simple geography, since if you live near one you can be seen, treated and home inside a couple of hours.
What they can and can't handle
| Usually can treat | Cannot treat — call 999 |
|---|---|
| Sprains, strains and suspected simple fractures | Chest pain or suspected heart attack |
| Cuts needing stitches or glue | Stroke symptoms |
| Minor burns and scalds | Severe breathing difficulty |
| Urine, chest, ear, throat and skin infections | Major trauma or head injury with loss of consciousness |
| Eye injuries and foreign bodies (minor) | Heavy or uncontrollable bleeding |
| Fevers and illness in otherwise well adults and children | Suspected sepsis, meningitis or anaphylaxis |
The better private urgent care centres are upfront about this and will redirect or transfer you to an NHS A&E if you arrive with something beyond their scope — usually by calling an ambulance, exactly as anyone else would. That transfer costs time, which is why self-triaging a genuine emergency to a private clinic is a bad idea even if money is no object.
Cover for everything after the emergency
What a private urgent care visit costs
Most centres charge a flat fee for the initial walk-in assessment — typically £150–£300 depending on the provider and location. That usually covers seeing the doctor and a basic examination. Anything on top is billed separately:
- X-rays. Typically £100–£200 per body area.
- Blood tests. Roughly £50–£250 depending on the panel.
- Treatment. Stitches, splints, dressings and prescriptions are usually charged as extras.
- Onward referral. If you need a specialist or surgery, that's a whole new set of private fees — or a free NHS referral via your GP.
A straightforward visit — assessment plus an X-ray for a suspected fracture — commonly lands somewhere between £250 and £500. That's broadly comparable to a private GP appointment plus imaging, which for non-urgent problems is often the cheaper and calmer route. Ask for the fee list up front: reputable centres publish their assessment fee and common extras, and will give you an estimate before tests are run rather than surprising you at the desk on the way out.
Does health insurance cover private urgent care?
Generally, no — and this surprises people. UK private medical insurance is built around planned treatment of new conditions: GP or specialist referral, authorisation, then a consultation and treatment. Emergency and urgent care sits outside that model, and most policies explicitly exclude A&E-style treatment, however it's delivered.
There are partial exceptions. Some policies include private GP services that can handle urgent-but-minor problems, and follow-up care after an emergency — the surgery to fix a break after A&E has stabilised it, say — can be covered where it's eligible treatment. But the walk-in urgent care fee itself is typically self-pay. If covered urgent care matters to you, check the policy wording before you buy rather than assuming.
Where insurance genuinely earns its keep is everything that comes after the urgent bit: the scan, the specialist, the operation, the physio — the parts of care where NHS waits are longest, with a median referral-to-treatment wait currently at 12.4 weeks. We compare policies from Bupa, AXA Health, Aviva, Vitality, WPA and The Exeter on exactly that — including which ones bundle the private GP access that covers most 'urgent-ish' days.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a private A&E anywhere in the UK?
No — no UK private hospital runs a true 24/7 emergency department with resuscitation, major trauma and intensive care on the scale of NHS A&Es. The closest equivalents are private urgent care centres, mostly in London, which handle minor injuries and illness on a walk-in basis and redirect genuine emergencies to the NHS.
What's the difference between a private urgent care centre and an A&E?
A private urgent care centre is closer to an NHS minor injuries unit: doctors, nurses, X-ray and blood tests for sprains, cuts, simple fractures and infections. It has no resuscitation bays, intensive care or major trauma team. Anything life-threatening gets transferred to an NHS A&E by ambulance.
How much does a private urgent care visit cost?
Typically £150–£300 for the walk-in assessment, with X-rays (around £100–£200), blood tests and treatment charged on top. A straightforward visit with imaging commonly totals £250–£500. Prices vary by provider and are highest in central London, so check the clinic's fee list before you go.
Will my health insurance pay for a private A&E alternative?
Usually not. Most UK health insurance policies exclude emergency and urgent care visits, including private walk-in centres. Some policies include private GP services for urgent-but-minor problems, and eligible follow-up treatment after an emergency can be covered — but the urgent care fee itself is typically self-pay.
Where are the UK's private urgent care centres?
Almost entirely in London, where groups such as HCA Healthcare and Cleveland Clinic London run walk-in urgent care clinics attached to their hospitals. A few independent same-day clinics exist elsewhere, but most UK cities have no private urgent care option at all — the NHS urgent treatment centre is the realistic choice.
Can a private urgent care centre treat a broken bone?
Often, yes — for simple suspected fractures they can X-ray, splint or cast, and refer on. Complex or open fractures, or breaks with heavy bleeding or deformity, need an NHS A&E. If surgery is required afterwards, that becomes planned care, which is where private treatment or insurance can then take over.
Should I go private for chest pain to skip the A&E queue?
No — never. Chest pain, stroke symptoms, severe breathing difficulty and major injuries need 999 and an NHS emergency department, where resuscitation teams and rapid heart-attack and stroke pathways exist. No private clinic in the UK is equipped for these, and detouring to one costs time that matters.
Do private hospitals accept emergency ambulance patients?
No. UK ambulances take emergency patients to NHS hospitals, and private hospitals aren't part of the emergency network — most don't have the intensive care depth to accept unstable patients. Privately insured or not, your emergency care happens on the NHS; private care can pick up eligible follow-up treatment afterwards.
Are private urgent care centres open 24 hours?
Rarely. Most run extended hours — commonly 8am to 8pm, some longer or seven days a week — but very few offer round-the-clock walk-in cover. Out of hours, your options are NHS 111 for advice, an NHS urgent treatment centre, or 999 and A&E for anything serious.
Is private urgent care worth it for children?
Sometimes, for clearly minor problems — some London centres see children for infections, minor injuries and fevers, and being seen fast has obvious appeal. But children can deteriorate quickly, and anything worrying — breathing difficulty, floppiness, non-blanching rash, dehydration — should go straight to NHS urgent or emergency care.