What does a private colonoscopy cost in the UK?

Written by Ilana Eldad. Reviewed by Stuart Hendy.

Published 2026-09-15. Last reviewed 2026-09-15. Next review due 2027-03-15.

What a private price usually includes

Private hospitals price most planned work as a package. For colonoscopy, that package normally covers:

• the surgeon’s and anaesthetist’s fees for the procedure itself
• the hospital’s theatre, ward and nursing charges
• the consumables and implants used during the procedure
• one post-operative follow-up appointment with the same consultant
• the procedure, the endoscopy suite and recovery time

Hospitals publish their own package prices, and the Private Healthcare Information Network publishes hospital and consultant fee and performance information under the Competition and Markets Authority’s order. ^{[1] [2]} Always take the price from the hospital you are going to, in writing.

What usually sits outside the quoted price

• the first consultation and any scans or tests needed to reach a diagnosis
• treatment for anything found that was not part of the quoted procedure
• a longer stay than the package assumes, if recovery does not go to plan
• medicines to take home beyond the short supply most packages include
• removal of polyps found during the test, sometimes charged as a therapeutic procedure
• histology on anything removed
• bowel preparation medication

What it costs

We do not publish a price we cannot source. Where a published figure exists and a member of our team has entered it with the publication it came from, it appears here: [STATISTIC REQUIRED]. Until then, the two places to look are the hospital’s own published price list and PHIN, which publishes fee information for private hospitals and consultants. ^[1]

How insurance treats it

• Usually covered with a consultant referral and prior authorisation.
• A screening colonoscopy with no symptoms is normally excluded; a diagnostic one is not.
• If polyps are removed, the procedure may be recoded — check the authorisation covers it.
• Bowel symptoms investigated before cover began are a pre-existing condition.

Insurers set out what they will and will not pay in the policy document, and the Financial Conduct Authority requires the terms and the information you are given to be clear and not misleading. ^[6] If your policy carries an excess, you pay it once per policy year or once per condition depending on the wording — check which before you book. Our guide to how an excess works explains the difference.

The NHS route

Colonoscopy appears both in the diagnostic waiting times and, where cancer is suspected, in the cancer waiting times standards.

You can look up the published waiting position for your own hospital and specialty. ^[4] Our waiting times tool sends you straight to the official service for your nation for gastroenterology, and the waiting, paying or insuring tool puts the three routes side by side using your own quoted figures. You also have a legal right to choose where you are treated for most planned NHS care. ^{[5] [3]}

Questions to ask before you agree a price

1. Is this a fixed package price, and what makes it stop being fixed?
2. Does the price include the consultant’s fee, the anaesthetist’s fee and the hospital charge?
3. How many follow-up appointments are included, and for how long?
4. What happens, and what does it cost, if I need to stay longer than planned?
5. If I am using insurance, has the hospital and the consultant confirmed they are covered at these fees?
6. What happens to the price if polyps are found and removed?
7. Is histology on samples included?

It is also worth checking the hospital’s inspection rating with the Care Quality Commission or the equivalent regulator in your nation. ^[7]