Frequently asked questions

We seek to ensure our data is as up-to-date and accurate as possible.

Most data sources, for example the CQC and NHS England, the data are updated monthly. On the specific dates when new data are published, it may take up to 48 for the data to appear on our site. However, some healthcare providers do not publicly report their data, or on occasions are unable to submit data for a period.

Where this is the case, it is displayed on Health Compare as 'not reported' or 'no NHS data'.

No, this service is completely free to the patient.

No

When you complete an enquiry form, it's sent to the hospital(s) of your choice. We keep a copy of each as a record, in accordance with our Terms and Conditions. We will also email you to confirm when we have delivered your enquiry. Once received, your enquiry will be treated in accordance with each individual hospital's terms, conditions and privacy policy.

Yes. Providing impartial information is one of our key principles. Regardless of whether they display an NHS or private healthcare organisation, your search results on Health Compare always appear in the same fair and impartial way.

No, Health Compare does not make recommendations of any nature.

No

Health Compare is an independent company that provides fair and impartial information to help you make an informed choice about which healthcare provider is best for you or your family.

We take our data protection obligations seriously and it is important to us that you understand how we use your personal data.

When you make an enquiry with a healthcare organisation, we need to record some personal details in order to pass your enquiry to your chosen provider.

If you would like more information, please read our Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy and Terms and Conditions; they set out how we process some of your personal data and for what purpose, who we share it with, how long we keep it and what rights you have in relation to our processing.

Please read our Privacy Policy for full details.

No, we are not using your personal data for marketing purposes.

Yes

If you are referred by a GP for NHS treatment, the NHS will pay for your treatment at an NHS or private hospital of your choice, as the Health and Social Care Act 2013 gives you the legal right to choose.

There are some exceptions*, but most private hospitals across the UK have a contract with the NHS to perform treatments on their behalf.*

Yes, the NHS pays the same price for treatment, regardless of whether the provider is an NHS or a private hospital.

Yes. You can compare and enquire with a number of hospitals at once.

Click the 'Compare' button to the right of your search results. All selected hospitals will be added to your shortlist, which can then be viewed by clicking the 'Comparison' button in the bottom right of the page. The shortlist panel will appear, allowing you to review your selections and choose the right hospital for you.

Yes. You can make as many enquiries as you like by clicking the ‘Find Out More Button’ to the right of each provider in your search results.

It may be easier to shortlist a number of providers using our compare function. Click the ‘Add to Compare’ button to the right of each hospital. All selected providers will be added to your shortlist which can be viewed by clicking the heart icon, that will be flagged in red on the top right hand of the page. From the shortlist panel you can review and compare all providers shortlisted, and choose one or more to make enquiries with.

The information presented on this website is publicly-available and published by individual hospitals and bodies such as the Care Quality Commission. Our team draw together that information and present it on Health Compare in an easily-accessible and understandable fashion.

As the information is published by hospitals and other third parties, we are not responsible for incorrect or incomplete information and can't be held liable for their mistakes.

Health Compare has been created by a team with significant collective experience in the healthcare sector.

The information presented on this website is publicly-available and published by individual hospitals, as well as bodies such as the Care Quality Commission. Our team draw together that information and present it in an easily- accessible and understandable fashion.

When a user searches on Health Compare, all results from both NHS and private health care organisations are presented in a consistent, fair and impartial way. It is that user's responsibility to interpret their search results and consult with the service providers they feel best suit their requirements.

No, as there is no requirement to do so. The information presented on Health Compare is from publicly-available sources and published by national oversight bodies, such as the Care Quality Commission. Our team draw together that information and present it in an easily-accessible and understandable fashion.

No, it doesn't need to be. This is because Health Compare doesn't provide medical advice or recommendations, nor financial or insurance advice.

We aren't qualified or authorised to provide advice or recommendations of this nature and would never seek to do so. The content within an individual user's search results on this website is provided for information purposes only.

It is an individual user's responsibility to interpret their results and consult with the service providers they feel best suit their requirements.

Please email us by clicking here.

We don't represent any of the healthcare providers you find on our site; if you have feedback for them we recommend you contact them directly.

If you find any information on the website that you feel is incorrect, please contact datamanager@healthcompare.co.uk with the details of the hospital record that need to be reviewed.

Currently we cover hospitals in England only. We plan to roll out to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in the future.

By selecting the treatment you're interested in as well as your preferred location with our search tool, your results will showcase relevant hospitals.

Please note purely cosmetic treatments are not generally available on the NHS; we suggest you discuss your circumstances with your GP and they will advise you.

Availability for cosmetic treatment at a private hospital (paid for by you or by your healthcare insurance) may vary from provider to provider. We recommend you make an enquiry of your chosen hospital for more information, as well as your insurers to identify any exceptions that apply to you.

The term 'elective treatment' means an operation, procedure or treatment which you have chosen ("elected") to have done, whether via the NHS or a private healthcare provider.

Patients can leave a rating on www.nhs.uk regarding their care at that hospital. That website then collates these into a five-star score. We use that score wherever we are able to find and apply it to the locations listed on Health Compare.

The Care Quality Commission is the independent regulator of all healthcare services in England, they monitor, inspect and regulate services to make sure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety and then they publish what they find, including performance ratings. Health Compare uses the published performance ratings to help you make informed decisions when choosing a preferred location for your care.

All NHS providers collect information from patients in a variety of ways. The friends and family collection asks patients whether they would recommend the location they were treated in to these groups if they required a similar treatment. There are five possible responses, Health Compare use the 'very likely' and 'likely' responses combined as a percentage of all responses.

There are 5 referral-to-treatment (RTT) statistics published by NHS England each month. We consider all the NHS England published data and apportion it correctly to hospital sites on our platform and present it in a user-friendly way. At Health Compare we focus specifically on what is important to you, the average Waiting Time, namely how long you are likely to wait for treatment. This is the headline figure we feature in our Hospital search results and shows how long you are likely to wait before your treatment commences.

Hospital Waiting Times shown on our site are calculated by each hospital for all specialties, before being collated and published monthly by NHS England. The "9 out of 10" figure reflects the number of weeks that the 92nd person out of 100 people (the 92nd Percentile) has been waiting for their treatment to start. This statistic is currently being reviewed because Healthwatch England have shown that few people understand it. The proposal is likely to be that all hospitals move to reporting the average (mean) number of weeks. Health Compare also utilise the "Treated" waiting time statistics for Outpatients and Inpatients, displayed in the Waiting Time "hover over". On waiting times results for a particular hospital (hold your cursor over the waiting time displayed for a particular hospital and the text will appear). These show, by taking data relating to treated patients (i.e. patients who have completed their treatment), the number of weeks that the 95th person out of 100 waited for their treatment to start (the 95th Percentile). Again, it is likely that these measurements will change in due course, as few people understand them.

Also, in the Waiting Time hover over, we show Diagnostics, which are part of the referral treatment pathway and are likely to happen before a patient has their first substantive appointment. A patient referred for diagnostics should only wait 6 weeks or less for their diagnostic. We show the percentage of patients who have waited over 6 weeks for their diagnostic to happen - the target is 1% or less.

The data are available separately for the 18 highest volume specialties, with the remaining data for low volume specialties are grouped into 'other'. If no treatment selection is made on the Health Compare website, we display the 'total' value for the location.

Remember, your right as a patient is to be seen and have your treatment start within 18 weeks of referral and if you haven’t commenced treatment by then you have a legal right to be seen by another hospital. Use Health Compare to check out and compare waiting times for your treatment and discuss your options with your GP. Choose Well.

We strive to maintain the accuracy of information we hold regarding all Health Compare locations, but if you feel that a location has been incorrectly excluded or included, or if any other detail is incorrect, please contact us and let us know.

All NHS hospitals are operated by Trusts and more often than not, a Trust operates across multiple hospital locations. If it's clear that a hospital location only provides non-consultant led services that you wouldn't be routinely referred to by your GP (unless you were seriously ill or urgently needed access), then we will exclude that hospital from our results.

This means that there are likely to be some hospital sites, which we don't believe to be relevant, missing from the search results, although if we can't definitively see why the location would be excluded then we will include it. For example, often a community hospital will host outpatient services… it may not always be clear. If there is any doubt, we will keep the location in our search results.

We combined multiple data sources to create our overall result; unfortunately, not all of the locations listed feature in each of the data sources we use. Our aim is to give you a balanced view on where best to have your healthcare treatment by combining these data sources in a way that no one else can, but we appreciate that this sometimes leads to situations where elements of data are missing for a location.

Equally, if you find multiple locations have the same values, it's likely that they belong to the same Trust and the data are not specific to the location. We aim to ensure as much data as possible are specific to each location but it depends on how the data are published. If the data are only available at Trust level, that is how we report it.

The PLACE (Patient Led Assessment of Care & Environment) is an annual appraisal of the non-clinical aspects of NHS and independent/private healthcare settings, undertaken by teams made up of staff and members of the public (known as patient assessors). The team must include a minimum of 50 per cent patient assessors.

PLACE assessments provide a framework for assessing quality against common guidelines and standards in order to quantify the environment's cleanliness, food and hydration provision, the extent to which the provision of care with privacy and dignity is supported, and whether the premises are equipped to meet the needs of people with dementia or with a disability.

It measures the change in the waiting list between the average of the last three months compared to the average of the three months prior to that. Using the quarterly averages shows the trend, as opposed to individual months data, which can be subject to volatility.

If you choose to pay for the treatment yourself, or payment is being made by your health insurance provider, you can typically choose to see a specific consultant.

If you choose to have your treatment performed at an NHS hospital or private hospital (paid for by the NHS), you can generally choose the clinical team who will oversee your care (which will be led by a consultant), rather than being able to choose the particular consultant.

When you make an enquiry to a hospital, you can request more information about the consultants who perform the treatment you require at their hospital and their availability.

When you make an enquiry to a hospital, they will give you more information about the consultants who perform the treatment you require at their site(s) and their availability. Guidance on consultants at NHS hospitals may be available via their website, or your GP can guide you. Health Compare includes consultant information on a hospital by hospital basis. Check out the Consultants link for the relevant Hospital in your search results.

This depends on the circumstances. Generally, unless you decide to pay for the treatment yourself or it is being provided under the terms of your healthcare insurance policy, you do not have legal rights to change your consultant provided and paid for by the NHS once you are receiving treatment. However, if your treatment has not started within 18 weeks (or two weeks in the case of urgent suspected cancer), the NHS must take reasonable steps to offer alternatives. Speak to your GP or the hospital you were first referred to, they will give you more information on your rights. You can use Health Compare to help you find a suitable alternative hospital to receive your NHS treatment faster, whether this is at an NHS hospital or a private hospital paid for by the NHS.

Alternatively, you can move to a private hospital for your treatment if you choose to pay for the treatment yourself, or it is covered by your healthcare insurance. You can use Health Compare to search for alternatives.

You can also find out more here

Generally no, unless you are paying for that second opinion privately or it is covered by the terms of your health insurance policy. For more information on this issue you should speak to your GP or health insurance provider.

This information is listed by Hospital on our site. Check out the reference to Consultants under the relevant Hospital in your search results page.

If you make an enquiry to a private hospital through our site, that hospital will be glad to provide you with more information on their consultants. NHS hospitals do not have the systems and resources to do this but your GP can guide you in relation to the available consultants and teams at NHS hospitals, or this information may be published on their website.

Most consultations or video link appointments will attract a charge. However, there are many free services offered by the online doctor service providers as well. There are a variety of pricing options available across different service providers, depending on what you want. We provide some headline detail of their charges for you to consider on our site, but you will need to make an enquiry or visit their website to make sure you understand the charging criteria and the full benefits as well. Sometimes consultations are offered free as part of medical health insurance policies.

Interested in hearing more? Make an enquiry of them through our site or visit their website for more details.

It may depend on what time of day you get in touch. You can often book an appointment 24/7 but you are likely to be offered a consultation during normal business hours. Most online doctors will go to great lengths to get you in front of a medical practitioner within a couple of hours, during usual business hours, even at weekends and bank holidays. Speed of access is a key factor of their service. You will need to make an enquiry and read their terms and conditions for a precise answer. Different online doctor services will have different terms and pricing options which may affect how quickly you get the access you seek.

The online doctor will ask you about this. If you want your regular GP to keep your health records complete and up to date, it would be usual for the online doctor to write to them to explain about the consultant and the outcome. Just like a consultant at a hospital will write to your GP about the treatment you are receiving. Some online doctors offer a service of becoming your regular NHS GP.

Want to learn more? Make an enquiry of them through our site or visit their website for more details.

Online doctors are required in England to be trained and registered with the General Medical Council, just like your regular GP.

The practices are also regulated by the Care Quality Commission, just like your regular GP practice. You can find out more about the online doctors themselves on the websites of the providers. See the links we provide.

As with all healthcare providers, confidentiality and privacy is very important to the online doctors and they will advise you in relation to any privacy concerns you have. Make an enquiry of them through our site or visit their website for more details.

Sometimes your online doctor will tell you that you need to be physically examined before a complete diagnosis can be made. If this is the safe course of action they will tell you.

As with your regular GP your appointment is likely to be about 10 minutes. If you feel your appointment will take longer than 10 minutes you should make that clear when you book as you may have to book an extra slot. The online doctor will advise you if he / she feels it is necessary for you to book a further appointment.

If you would like more information about this make an enquiry of them through our site or visit their website for more details.

Generally, most types of modern Smartphone whether IOS or Android can be used and tablets or desktop computers or laptops. Some providers will have Apps you can download too, but access is generally also available through the browser on your device. Precise technical requirements can be found on the website of the provider. Either way you need to be connected to the internet, via wifi or 3G or 4G usually.

This will depend on the provider and their own capabilities. We would expect that most providers will enable you to have a consultation even if you are abroad provided you have internet access, but this will depend on the provider so if you have a question about this it's best to make an enquiry of them through our site or check out their website.

No, not unless you have authorised them to have access in good time in advance of your appointment and your regular GP has given them access. Alternatively, some online doctors can become your regular NHS GP and in this process they would be given access to your records. Not all providers offer this service. Nevertheless, the online doctor may ask you if you want to have details of your consultation sent to your regular GP and they will write to your GP as you wish, to keep all your records up to date.

Want to learn more? Make an enquiry of them through our site or visit their website for more details.

We at Health Compare do not provide medical advice ourselves and if you are not satisfied with any aspect of the online doctor services or consultation, they have complaints procedures which you can see on their websites.

The terms of your insurance policy will determine which hospital and consultants are available to you.

Health Compare's search results allow you to filter by insurers and their unique policies, so you can determine which hospitals are authorised under your cover.

If you cannot find your policy listed on our site or if you have specific questions, we recommend you speak to your insurer or make an enquiry to the hospital of your choice.

The information found within your search results is provided for information purposes only. It is the user's responsibility to interpret their individual results on Health Compare and consult with the healthcare service providers they feel best suit their requirements.

Please note we are not qualified or authorised to give medical or financial services advice or recommendations and would never seek to do so.

The information found within your search results is provided for information purposes only. It is the user's responsibility to interpret their individual results on Health Compare and consult with the healthcare service providers they feel best suit their requirements.

Please note we are not qualified or authorised to give medical or financial services advice or recommendations and would never seek to do so.

No, Health Compare does not provide any form of insurance or financial advice.

We are not qualified or authorised to provide this type of advice.

A pre-existing medical condition typically is an illness or health condition that you have sought medical advice upon or for which you have received treatment in the past, before the start of your new health insurance policy. However, insurers may have differing definitions as to how a pre-existing condition is classified.

We recommend that you speak to the insurance provider or broker directly for advice if you have questions about your options.

Many people feel motivated to take out private medical insurance to cover a condition, after they have had a negative experience or faced a wait for consultations or treatment with the NHS.

However, many Insurers do not cover you for a condition that you have received advice or treatment for in the last five years. It is also common for insurers to cover a condition after a two year period if you have not sought advice or treatment for it and you have a policy in place for those two years.

That said, all of the brokers who we feature specialise in insurance for pre-existing conditions to some extent and we suggest that you speak directly with them, under no obligation.

One reason people have been reluctant to change insurers or explore their options with other providers, is that they fear that they will lose cover for existing conditions. As a result there are many people who are potentially paying too much for their cover.

Whilst this may be true, changing insurers can lead to conditions being no longer covered, it may not be the case for many people. We suggest that you speak directly with the insurance providers and / or brokers, under no obligation.

For the most part if you have not had to see a specialist in the last 12 months and have nothing booked in to see a specialist in the future you should be free to move providers without the need to lose cover.

Many medical insurance policies are designed to provide cover for those unforeseen medical conditions that arise after the start of a policy, but there are some conditions that can be covered, even if they are pre-existing. This depends on your chosen medical underwriting and the condition itself. We suggest that you speak directly with the insurance providers and / or brokers, under no obligation.

Funding care home placements can be complicated. If you need or wish to self-fund the care, this is likely to be upwards of around £600 per week.

There are a number of criteria that affect whether you contribute to the cost of care, or whether the care costs are covered either partially or in total by your local authority.

If you own your own home and you are the sole occupant, then it's likely that you would need to sell that house to pay for your care. In that situation, it may be worth exploring home care or supported living options.

If you have savings or assets in excess of £23,500 then these would most likely be used to cover the cost of your care ahead of any local authority funding options.

If your loved one has recently been hospitalised and in order to be discharged, they require a care package, the hospital will discuss this with you and your relatives. However, this care package (usually referred to as Continuing Healthcare, or CHC, or Funded Nursing) may also be means tested and subject to the criteria set out above.

In almost all cases, the amount available to pay toward your care home costs from your local authority is likely to be less than the actual cost and top up payments will be required.

Which? Provide a free cost and eligibility checker which will give you a better understanding of the potential costs of care in your area.

https://www.which.co.uk/later-life-care/financing-care/cost-of-care-and-eligibility-checker

In all cases, you may also consider seeking financial advice from a Society of Later Life Advisor (SOLLA). These are accredited and specially trained Independent Financial Advisors (IFAs) who can support you with guidance and differing options of how to fund a loved ones' care.

Anyone can contact a care at home provider to get a no obligation quote, it just depends on the level of care you require and the availability from local providers.

It very much depends on the level of care you require. If you just need someone to pop in and check on a loved one for an hour a day the cost will be considerably lower than if you require 24 hour nursing.

Potentially, yes. Your local authority may be able to assist with costs, subject to a needs assessment. Click here to find the appropriate local authority website where you can contact social care.