Finding the best private hospital in London can be a challenge, as there are so many providing high-quality care in the capital. Each year, our healthcare experts review the best and highlight those which provide outstanding care.
Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals Specialist Care is part of the largest specialist heart and lung care centre in the UK.
Its hospitals have been identified on US Newsweek’s 2022 list of best centres in the world for cardiology and its experts have led the way in advancing research and treatment in the fields of heart and lung care for over 100 years – including the UK’s first ever double heart and lung transplant.
Doctors from around the world seek training and guidance from its consultants and regularly refer their patients for the most cutting-edge treatments that are often only available at its hospitals and nowhere else.
What’s more, each patient’s treatment plan is reviewed by a multi-disciplinary team of consultants to develop the best treatment strategy for them. This means that patients get not one, but several expert opinions about their treatment automatically as part of their care.
With three London-based locations, accessing world-class heart and lung care and state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment facilities is incredibly convenient for private patients wherever they may be travelling from.
For more information about the advanced diagnostics and treatments offered and to book a same-day appointment with one of its specialists, visit the RB&HH Specialist Care website.
London Bridge Hospital is a highly respected provider of rapid assessment, intervention and treatment for a range of conditions.
The London Bridge Hospital is an award-winning private healthcare provider and they deliver a world-leading experience to thousands of patients each year. With the capability to care for a wide variety of health issues and medical problems, they provide one of the most comprehensive services in London.
With a commitment to the care of their patients, they deliver high quality and cost-effective healthcare to every individual patient.
The Portland Hospital is the is the only hospital in the UK which focuses on providing private healthcare solely to women and children. With over 600 skilled consultants and nurses with cutting edge facilities, The Portland Hospital is truly world-class. As the largest private children's hospital in the UK, with a dedicated intensive care unit that has 58 beds and over 150 consultant paediatricians, the hospital can attend to children of any age, ranging from newborns through to young adults. The Portland places particular importance on the provision of high-quality care for expectant mothers. They are the only fully private maternity hospital in the UK and more than 1,600 babies are delivered there every year.
The BUPA Cromwell Hospital is known for its wide range of brilliant orthopaedics and surgery, cutting edge equipment and exceptional staff and services. They have a dedicated children's centre, a well-respected cancer centre, separate endocrine, heart, liver gastrointestinal and lung centres and even a neuroscience department and intensive care unit. They even have a dedicated unit for international patients who are visiting the UK from abroad.
Providing a range of medical treatments for both adults and children, it's a state-of-the-art private hospital that is known for excellence in patient care The Cromwell isn't just well known in London, it's also built a worldwide reputation for innovation and is continually investing in advanced diagnostics and medical treatment technologies. The Cromwell's orthopaedics department is considered to be one of the best in the UK.
As the UK's leading private hospital supporting veterans via the Armed Forces Covenant, the hospital providers a wide range of medical services. The King Edwards VII's Hospital in London is a forward-thinking facility with a long history of providing independent charitable health care.
The hospital exists thanks to donations from over 2,500 friends, which keeps it at the cutting edge of medical care. If you're a veteran of the Armed Forces, it remains the finest private hospital in the UK for you and you can expect one of the highest nurse to patient ratios in the country.
Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) is world-renowned for its expertise in paediatric care, offering exceptional care to children suffering from rare, complex and multiple conditions. It is an NHS hospital that accepts referrals for private and international patients.
GOSH has been operating for the past 170 and has developed its services to include 60 clinical specialities and 18 specialised national services. These include treatment for heart problems, renal issues and cancer. They’re at the forefront of research into gene therapy for childhood illnesses, and they train more paediatric specialists in clinical care and nursing than any other centre in Europe.
In 2021 they opened a multidisciplinary specialist centre for children with sight and hearing loss, designed to cater for those patients’ specific sensory needs.
The London Clinic believes that the calibre of the consultants that work for them, alongside the range and complexity of treatments they can provide makes them very special. With specialists covering a huge range of medical and surgical disciplines, they can provide the very best care tailored to you.
The London Clinic's consultants are leaders in their fiends and almost all of them have help NHS teaching posts and appear on the UK's General Medical Council Specialist Register. To work at the clinic, consultants must meet extremely high standards set out by the Care Quality Commission as well those set by the hospital itself.
With senior doctors, clinical fellows and Resident Medical Officers on site 24 hours a day, you can expect round the clock medical care. Finally, with over 1000 experienced and support staff, each patient is very well looked after and cared for.
The Queen Square Private Hospital offers world-class expertise in neurology. Its private consulting rooms are located next door to the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. Its neurosurgeons and neurologists are employed at the NHS hospital or the UCL Institute of Neurology. The hospital takes a multidisciplinary approach to patient care with treatments ranging from surgery to neurophysiology, neuroradiology, neuropsychology and neuro-otology. This means they can support patients with nervous system disorders, Parkinson’s disease, traumatic brain injuries and auditory processing disorders, to name a few.
Patients are offered a choice of virtual or in-person appointments for their initial consultation. The hospital is also close to the Queen Square Imaging Centre, which allows them to provide diagnostic scans supervised by specialist radiologists from the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery.
The Priory Hospital in Roehampton, Southwest London is one of the UK's most popular centres for several mental health problems, from addiction and depressions to anxiety and eating disorders. Part of the larger Priory Group which was bought by US healthcare giant Advent International in 2011, the hospital treats more than 70 different mental health conditions.
The Priory, as it's fondly known, provide both residential in-patient treatment along with outpatient and daycare. As a leading independent provider of behavioural care in the UK, they support more than 30,000 people each year.
The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital is the UK’s largest specialist orthopaedic hospital. It has a central London outpatients facility and a further site in Stanmore, Middlesex. They offer a range of orthopaedic treatments, including hip and knee replacements, limb reconstruction, cartilage repair surgery and treatments for acute spinal injuries, alongside pain management and rehabilitation.
They received the Gold Award from the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme in 2019 for their work with veterans.
RNOH is an NHS hospital and invests income from private patients back into the hospital to support facilities and treatments for both NHS and private patients. The hospital’s focus on orthopaedic medicine means that patients are treated by highly specialised staff. These include internationally recognised consultants, specialised clinical staff, therapists and specialist nurses.
Highgate Private Hospital has recently become part of Nuffield Health’s national network of hospitals and treatment centres. It’s been offering private care in London since 1980. The hospital’s services can be funded by either medical insurance or on a self-pay basis, and they also provide specialist services to some NHS patients where required.
They work with over 150 consultants and specialists, many of whom also practice within the NHS, to offer treatments in most branches of medicine. The clinical team are supported by over 100 hospital staff, including specialist nurses. They’ve invested in developing and expanding their range of services and offer diagnostic imaging and scans, a pharmacy, outpatient clinics and physiotherapy, and access to a private GP service.
Highgate Private Hospital prides itself on high levels of patient satisfaction and offering high-quality service with minimal waiting times. Their facilities include 32 luxury en-suite bedrooms should you need inpatient care.
The Cleveland Clinic is one of London’s newest private hospitals. Its outpatient centre opened in Portland Place in September 2021, which is now followed by a 184-bed hospital which opened in March 2022.
The Cleveland Group are a not-for-profit organisation with a multidisciplinary, ‘patient first’ philosophy. They’re part of a more comprehensive global healthcare network with hospitals in Ohio, Florida, Nevada, Toronto and Abu Dhabi. They’ve pledged to reinvest surplus profits into education and research.
The new hospital focuses on the heart and vascular medicine, neurology, orthopaedics and digestive issues. The outpatient clinic has 17 consultation rooms and offers health screening, diagnostic imaging and care for sporting injuries. As an inpatient, you’ll have access to one of 184 bedrooms, eight operating theatres, and day-case rooms for surgical treatments, along with a 42-bed neurological suite if you need rehabilitation as an inpatient.
Walking through the doors of the Weymouth Street Hospital feels more like stepping into a luxury hotel. With 17 en-suite private rooms equipped with flat screen TVs and surround sound, you could be forgiven for thinking you were taking a mini-break rather than receiving treatment. They’ll even cook your food to order.
It’s part of the Phoenix Hospital Group which has four hospitals in Central London and Essex. They prioritise offering a high-quality customer experience, both in their facilities and the services they provide.
The hospital has recently expanded and invested in new technologies and equipment to ensure that their 4 operating theatres are state of the art. Specialist areas include everything you’d expect from a much larger hospital, with consultants offering treatments for allergies, skin conditions and musculoskeletal conditions. The only notable omission is a lack of specialist oncology services.
The Harley Street Clinic is part of HCA Healthcare and specialises in oncology, cardiology and neuroscience. They provide care at a single site across a range of specialist centres, from diagnostic imaging to cardiac care and a dedicated breast cancer unit.
Their cancer care is comprehensive, combining specialist oncologists and support services with cutting-edge equipment. The hospital treats cardiac patients from children with congenital heart conditions to surgery for life-threatening conditions. The clinic’s neurosurgery services are run by the London Neurosurgery Partnership, a group of eleven leading neurosurgeons working to treat neurological disorders, including brain injuries and spinal conditions.
They’re also at the cutting edge regarding new technology and treatments. They’re also the only private clinic in the UK to offer CaRi-Heart, which uses artificial intelligence to monitor patients’ symptoms and predict heart attacks. The hospital was also one of the first in the UK to provide CyberKnife cancer treatment. This technology was developed to treat previously inoperable cancers and causes less damage to healthy tissue than traditional treatments.
The Lister Hospital is another member of the HCA Healthcare Group. Its core offering includes cancer care, cardiac treatment and orthopaedic medicine. It also offers a comprehensive women’s health service and is one of the UK’s leading fertility treatment centres.
They describe themselves as “a world-class hospital that treats you like family.” The CQC certainly seem to agree, having rated their services as outstanding. Inpatients can benefit from en-suite meals and an a la carte food menu. The hospital also invests in the latest technologies to ensure patients receive high-quality care from diagnosis to discharge.
Their women’s health and wellbeing services include routine check-ups and specialised treatments tailored to each stage of a women’s life. Cancer care includes specialist breast clinics and sarcoma treatment. Their fertility services are exceptional and have one of the highest success rates of any IVF treatment clinic in the UK.
Hendon Hospital is a private day case and outpatient unit in North London. They specialise in orthopaedic and cosmetic surgery with specialist services, including a hand clinic for musicians and trigger finger treatment. Their services include an allergy clinic and treatment for patients experiencing chest pain.
Patients can access diagnostic imaging and scans, including MRI scans, ultrasounds, nerve conduction studies and x-rays.
Their rehabilitation offering is particularly impressive. Cryotherapy exposes patients to extreme cold for a short time. In theory, it helps reduce pain and inflammation in the same way as applying ice to a sprain or swelling. As well as physiotherapy and chronic pain management, their services include acupuncture, an anti-gravity treadmill, gait analysis and whole-body cryotherapy. Their rehabilitation programme also provides access to Pilates sessions.
Hendon hospital’s day case facilities include 18 en-suite beds with Freeview TV and telephone. Patients also have access to their restaurant, which caters to various dietary requirements.
The Blackheath Hospital is based in Greenwich and offers various procedures and treatments. Patients can choose a consultant or specialist in their relevant field who will lead and supervise their treatment throughout.
The hospital includes inpatient and outpatient facilities with consulting rooms, diagnostic imaging, 60 en-suite inpatient beds and a high dependency unit for critical care patients. There’s also a dedicated endoscopy suite. They aim to make their patients comfortable throughout their stay, offering satellite TV, phone and an a la carte menu. Their en-suite facilities offer flexible visiting hours, and patients’ visitors can also stay to eat with them in their room if they choose.
They’re part of the Circle Group (formerly known as BMI Healthcare) and have invested in improving and expanding the hospital facilities over the years. They’re currently part of a national £250million programme designed to improve facilities, staffing and technology.
They offer fixed-price treatment packages and work with the NHS to deliver treatments via ‘Choose & Book’ clinics.
The Wellington Hospital is the UK’s largest private hospital and specialises in complex care. This comprises a range of specialist services, including cancer care, orthopaedics, women’s health, spinal conditions and cardiology.
They also have one of the UK’s largest private digestive health centres, offering treatments for many digestive and gastrointestinal conditions such as diverticulitis, reflux, liver disease and pancreatic cancer. Their multidisciplinary team meets once a week to discuss complex cases and the best course of treatment with input from surgeons, radiologists, oncologists, pathologists and nursing specialists as appropriate.
Their neurosciences centre treats complex conditions affecting the brain and spine with surgery and rehabilitation at their specialist neurological rehab facility. As part of the HCA Healthcare group, they’ve been able to invest in cutting-edge technology, including the iMRI. This MRI scanner enables surgeons to carry out scans during surgery to monitor progress and reduce the risk of follow-up surgery being needed.
The Princess Grace Hospital is an award-winning, multidisciplinary hospital treating many acute conditions. In 2020 the London Breast Institute, based within the hospital, won the LangBuisson Nursing Practice Award, recognising the excellence of its’ nursing care.
The hospital staff include over 700 consultants offering care in most areas of medicine. The London Breast Institute specialises in the early diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. At the same time, the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health offers high-quality sports medicine to a standard previously accessible by elite athletes. Their assessment tools include a mobile cardiac assessment unit that uses an exercise bike to monitor patients during exertion.
Treatments are offered via a series of specialist centres focusing on a specific area of medicine. The London Digestive Centre focuses on gastrointestinal and digestive issues, while the Centre for Urological Care offers the latest diagnostic tools and treatments. Alongside the ISEH and Breast Institute, they operate an ENT unit offering a suite of services from assessment and diagnosis to treatment in one location.
They’re also at the forefront of new technology, using robotic surgery to treat cancer and chronic back pain and ensure more precise placement of implants in hip and knee replacements.
The London Welbeck Hospital is a private cosmetic hospital that's carried out over 40,000 successful procedures since 1986. Their treatments include surgical and non-surgical options, including breast augmentation, liposuction, facelifts and weight loss treatment.
It started life as a maternity hospital over 90 years ago. Since then, it has built a reputation as a high-quality cosmetic surgery facility by focusing on personalised care delivered discreetly in a professional and friendly way.
They offer treatments on both a day case and inpatient basis to tailor the service to the procedure. The emphasis is on cosmetic surgery's physical, social and mental health benefits and the importance of asking questions to ensure that you're receiving the proper treatment and have a realistic picture of the likely outcome.
The Spire St Anthony’s Hospital is in leafy Surrey on the edge of South London, offering its patients quick and easy access to high-quality medical care on both health insurance and a self-pay basis. Their services include diagnostic scans, surgery and rehabilitation, several specialist clinics, a sports injury clinic, and access to a private GP.
Specialist surgeons offer everything from cataract removal to hip and knee replacements and weight loss and cosmetic surgeries. Their orthopaedic and rheumatology treatments include surgery, physiotherapy, and pain management for chronic conditions. Their diagnostic offering includes MRI, ultrasound and CT scans, and specialist cardiac diagnostic tools, including ECG.
As an inpatient, you’ll stay in one of 92 en-suite rooms with TV and WiFi. You and your visitors can also visit the restaurant and sample the daily menu.