Hernia surgery cost UK: inguinal repair, private prices and NHS waiting times
Before you weigh this price: the NHS wait for a inguinal hernia repair runs from 3 to 53 weeks depending on which trust you're under, which is what decides whether paying is worth it.
See every NHS trust's inguinal hernia repair wait, ranked fastest first →That range is national. Enter your postcode to see where your own hospital’s wait sits in it.
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See your free wait-or-pay dashboard→Private inguinal hernia repair in the UK costs roughly £3,700 to £5,000 as an all-in package, and on the NHS it is free but you wait: the typical wait for an inguinal hernia repair runs to about 18 weeks (July 2026), and much longer at some hospitals than others.
The table below shows what individual hospitals published when we last checked. The cheapest was Practice Plus Group (group price) in England at £3,449; the most expensive was Nuffield Health Cambridge Hospital in Cambridge at £5,160. What each price includes differs, so the last column states what each hospital’s own page says.\n\n
| Group | Hospital | Guide price | What's included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Practice Plus Group | Practice Plus Group (group price) England | from £3,449 | Says the price is all-inclusive: consultant and anaesthetist fees, the anaesthetic, any overnight stay and aftercare (the initial consultation is charged separately) |
| Nuffield | Nuffield Health Leeds Hospital Leeds | £4,100 | Says a fixed all-inclusive price is confirmed after your consultation |
| Nuffield | Nuffield Health Shrewsbury Hospital Shrewsbury | £4,190 | Says a fixed all-inclusive price is confirmed after your consultation |
| Nuffield | Nuffield Health Cambridge Hospital Cambridge | £5,160 | Says a fixed all-inclusive price is confirmed after your consultation |
Guide prices sampled 30 September 2026. These are guide prices, published by each hospital. What a price includes varies from one to the next. Before you pay, confirm exactly what is covered, and in particular whether the surgeon's and anaesthetist's fees are inside the figure. Hospital ratings are from the Care Quality Commission. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
\n\n## What the operation is
An inguinal hernia is a bulge in the groin where a bit of tissue pushes through a weak spot in the muscle wall. It does not heal on its own, and when it causes discomfort it is repaired with a planned operation, open or keyhole, usually a day case under general anaesthetic. It is diagnosed by an examination rather than a scan, so most of the NHS wait is getting seen by a general surgeon and reaching the day-case list.
What you are actually paying for
A private inguinal hernia repair price is usually a fixed surgical package: the surgeon, the anaesthetist, the theatre, and your follow-up care. It does not include the first consultation, which is billed separately. Before the operation is booked, expect a first consultation of about £200 to £500, where the surgeon confirms the repair and how it will be done. Source: published self-pay guide prices, August 2026.
Ask any hospital the same question before you commit: exactly what is and is not in the price, and in particular whether the surgeon's and anaesthetist's fees sit inside the figure or are added on top.
The cheaper middle route: pay only to be seen
You do not have to pay for the operation to move sooner. Because a hernia is confirmed at examination, paying privately just to be seen, about £200 to £500 for the first consultation, gets the plan made quickly. You can then rejoin NHS care for the repair itself and keep your place in the queue for it. This helps most when the wait to be seen is the main part of the delay.
The operation is free on the NHS, so the real question is the wait
Paying privately buys you speed, not a better result: the operation is the same one the NHS does. Your choices are really three. Stay where you are and wait. Switch to a faster NHS hospital, for free, under your right to choose, which can save months at no cost. Or pay for the whole operation privately and be treated in weeks. Which is right depends entirely on how long your own hospital's queue is, and how much shorter a nearby one might be.
See every NHS hospital's real inguinal hernia repair wait, and how to switch to a faster one for free, on the inguinal hernia waiting times pages. If you would rather have your options and the faster hospitals near you worked out from your postcode, open your free dashboard below.
Want the wait instead of the price? See inguinal hernia repair NHS waiting times →
Can I go private for inguinal hernia repair, then have it done on the NHS? →
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How long will you really wait, and how could you go sooner?
Your free dashboard compares all four paths for inguinal hernia repair: wait, switch to a faster NHS hospital, part-private, or fully private. It names the faster hospitals near you, shows what going private would cost, and gives you letters ready to send. You can print it or save it as a PDF. Free, and nothing is locked or paid.
See your free wait-or-pay dashboard→