Treatment abroad: United Kingdom 

The United Kingdom is a premier destination for medical tourism, renowned for its world-class healthcare facilities offering specialised treatments in fields such as oncology, cardiology, and orthopaedics.

Many patients travel from around the world to benefit from the excellent standard of medical and surgical treatment available in private hospitals in London, Manchester, Birmingham and the rest of the UK.

Most private hospitals in the UK will offer you an operation at a pre-agreed or fixed price. It’s really a case of locating which private hospital you want to go to, finding out whether they can do your operation and then contacting them for a price.

Many of the UK’s private hospitals, particularly those in London, provide special services for patients from overseas. These may include interpreter services, catering for special diets, and doctors who speak languages other than English.

Why consider the UK

Where better to come for your healthcare than the country where much of it was discovered and invented?

The UK leads the world in medical research, taking place at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge and the top London hospitals, and has done for centuries. It was here that Penicillin was first discovered by Alexander Flemming, and the mysteries of DNA were unravelled by Crick and Watson. The UK also pioneered fertility treatment, with the first ‘test tube baby’ Louise Brown born in 1978. The UK has been at the forefront of all these fields and more, and continues to deliver new discoveries and advancements in medicine and surgical practice every year.

The UK’s private hospitals are among the very best in the world. Institutions such as The London Clinic, which recently treated the Queen’s husband Prince Phillip, and the many specialist practices of London’s Harley Street, genuinely lead the world in their respective fields. Historic hospital institutions such as St Barts and St Thomas’s, as well as leading children’s hospital Great Ormond Street, are in a class of their own when it comes to both quality of treatment and standards of service.

Britain’s private hospitals are clean and efficient, with high numbers of friendly attentive staff who are used to dealing with overseas guests. Indeed Kings, Prime Ministers and leaders from around the world come to the UK for medical treatment because the standards are so high. The UK may not be the cheapest option in international healthcare, but it is certainly one of the very best.

Travelling to the UK for medical treatment also gives you the opportunity to visit this fascinating country, with all that it has to offer. Before you treatment you can tour the sights, take in the history and shop till you drop. Then to recover afterwards, you can head for the fresh sea air of the coast, or indulge yourself at one of the hundreds of top class country house hotels, living the life once enjoyed by Dukes and Earls. The UK countryside is a great place to relax and recover from your treatment amid miles of rolling hills, fields and ancient woodlands.

For Americans, one of the major advantages of travelling to the UK for healthcare is the language, although most top private clinics will have bilingual staff that will also speak French and other languages. With Britain becoming ever more homogenised with American culture, US visitors will feel very much at home in Britain, while still experiencing plenty that is new and different.

In short, the UK offers facilities that are not just world-class but world-leading, backed by some of the best trained doctors and surgeons in the world, along with an exciting choice of locations and activities to complete your trip, making it the perfect place for your healthcare tourism.

Reasons to choose United Kingdom

Top quality private health facilities

World leading doctors and surgeons

Pioneers of innovative treatments and techniques

Easy to reach from EU and US

Extraordinary history and culture

Healthcare choice for world leaders and royalty

UK healthcare system

The UK operates a universal healthcare system called the National Health Service, or NHS, which is free to all at the point of delivery. This is funded by taxes and National Insurance payments, which are made by all workers and their employers. The scheme covers everything from general practitioners to complex surgery or cancer treatment. The NHS also covers a limited amount of fertility treatment for couples that meet certain criteria.

European citizens, as well as those from certain other countries with a reciprocal healthcare agreement, such as Australia and new Zealand, can access the NHS free of charge.

The standards of care in NHS hospitals is generally good, with well equipped clinics and well trained doctors and nurses. However, the system is generally under funded and can sometimes struggle with patient numbers, leading to long waiting lists for non-urgent operations and elective surgery.

This has lead to the creation of an alternative, private health system, with members paying for health insurance to avoid the waiting lists and have greater choice of better funded, higher quality facilities. Some private medical insurance companies simply fund treatment, while others, such as BUPA, have their own private hospitals and clinics.

In many cases, it is the same consultants and surgeons who work in both sectors. The advantage of going private is that you are able to access these specialists much more quickly and at a time that is convenient to you. The staff levels, quality of food and other facilities at private hospitals tends to be far better than their NHS equivalents.

The private sector also caters for treatments that are not available on the NHS, such as fertility treatment, for couples who do not qualify for NHS treatment, as well as cosmetic surgery and certain weight loss treatments.

The UK welcomes healthcare tourists, especially in the major cities such as London and Manchester, who come to take advantage of the first class facilities and leading medical practitioners on offer. UK private healthcare is expensive compared to some countries, especially in Asia or Eastern Europe, but the standards are significantly better. For patients seeking quality over cost, the UK is a premier destination to consider. Many of the cutting edge treatments available in the UK, such as pioneering cancer therapies and groundbreaking fertility techniques, are simply not available in many of the budget healthcare tourism destinations, making the UK one of the few options available.

Travel and Accommodation

The UK is well served by international airlines, and is a hub for many flights between west and east. London has two major airports, Gatwick and Heathrow, which are amongst the biggest and busiest in the world. Flights from major European cities take between 45 minutes and three hours, while it is around eight hours flying time to New York. Flights from the US start at just over $400 and from Europe from as little as €60.

The UK has a number of budget airlines that serve Continental Europe, with very low cost flights if you can be flexible with dates and book well ahead. These budget flights also cover the UK, although flying within the country is not the norm.

The UK also boasts an excellent rail system, with fast inter-city trains providing rapid links between north and south. Trains from London to Liverpool or Manchester take just two hours and to Edinburgh take just over four. Advance tickets can be incredibly cheap, with a one way ticket from Liverpool to London as little as £12.50 / €15 / $20.

Britain also has an excellent road system, with a network of motorways linking all major parts of the country. A driving tour is a great way to see the country, with all roads well signposted and regular tourist information centres in the towns and villages along the way.

The UK has a huge range of accommodation available to suit every taste and budget. In the cities you will find top class, five star establishments just minutes from budget chains such as Travelodge and Premier Inn, along with a growing selection of boutique hotels offering a unique and personal experience. Out in the countryside, you will find comfortable roadside hotels with reliable, if basic, standards, as well as welcoming pubs with accommodation, packed with rustic charm and home cooked food. Many of the UK’s country hotels are magnificent former stately homes, once owned by Britain’s upper classes. Today these have been converted to superb resort hotels with magnificent golf courses, exclusive health spas and acres of grounds to stroll and explore.

From the comfortable to the quirky, from the magnificent Dorchester Hotel to the humble bed and breakfast, wherever you are heading in Britain, you’ll find the perfect place to stay.

About the United Kingdom

The UK, or to give it its full title, The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, comprises the countries of England, Wales, Scotland and the province of Northern Ireland.

Once the seat of a worldwide empire, the UK is still a major player on the world stage, despite its relatively small size compared to the likes of the United States and Russia. It is one of the permanent members of the UN Security Council and has the worlds 5th largest economy by GDP.

The UK is also a major tourist destination, attracting over 27million tourists every year with its combination of spectacular scenery and historic sights. The British royal family is also a big attraction, with Buckingham Palace a must on any international tourist itinerary. The changing of the guard and grand symbolic parades, rich in colour and tradition, are very much a part of the pomp and ceremony of life in and around Buckingham Palace, and these days you can even take a guided tour inside.

The rest of London has a host of famous sights, from Tower Bridge to the historic Houses of Parliament, as well as world class theatres, top quality shopping and many historic buildings, including an authentic replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre on the banks of the Thames.

Head out of London and there is a wealth of choice for things to do. Spend a day at the beach on the countless sandy coves of Britain’s sunny south coast. Head for the hills in Wales or the spectacular Lake District National Park. Explore the many historic castles and country houses dotted across the country. Or you can really stretch your horizons with a trip up to the magnificent mountains and whiskey distilleries of Scotland.

Britain’s history is everywhere you turn, from the Roman cities of York, Bath and Chester, to the border castles between Wales and England. Hadrian’s Wall in the North of England is a spectacular feat of Roman engineering, and large sections of this amazing border line still stand to this day.

Despite its large population, the UK still has vast areas of open countryside to explore, with friendly villages where life has changed little in decades. And when you do venture into the cities, you’ll find modern hotels and plenty for tourists to do, from the Beatles tours of Liverpool to the dreaming spires of academic Oxford. The UK also has some high quality amusement parks, such as Alton Towers, and lots of unusual attractions such as the ancient stone circle of Stonehenge and the Jurassic coast of South West England.

In short, the UK really does have something for everyone, from history to hospitality, culture to countryside, putting it firmly on the list of must-visit countries for almost every traveller.