Private Urgent Care in London 2026. When You Can Avoid A&E, What Each Option Costs and How to Be Seen Fastest

Written By Dr Jones

Private urgent care is for problems that need a doctor today but are not a threat to life, and choosing the right place decides whether you wait 15 minutes or most of a day. In May 2026, 76% of people attending A&E in England were seen within 4 hours, against a national ambition of 82%, and at major emergency departments the figure was nearer 60%. Around 50,000 people that month waited more than 12 hours for a bed after the decision to admit them. Most of those waits fall on people with urgent but not life-threatening problems, because emergency departments rightly see the sickest first. London's private urgent care centres, run by HCA UK at hospitals including the Lister, the Wellington and the Princess Grace, and by the Cromwell Hospital, charge around £130 to £191 for the first consultation with tests and treatment billed separately. They open roughly 8am to 7pm and see adults only. The Wellness offers something different, a same-day doctor 7 days a week, 30 minutes with examination at 10 Portman Square or a doctor at your home or hotel, with children and families seen together. Chest pain, stroke symptoms, severe breathing difficulty and major injury always need 999. Fees appear further down this page.

Reviewed by the medical team at The Wellness. Last updated 30 September 2026.

See a doctor today on WhatsApp or email team@thewellnesslondon.com or call 020 3951 3429.

When should you call 999 or go straight to A&E

Some problems need an emergency department and nothing else, and no private clinic should suggest otherwise. Call 999 for chest pain or pressure, particularly spreading to the arm, jaw or back. Sudden weakness of the face or an arm, slurred speech or confusion, which may be a stroke. Severe difficulty breathing. Heavy bleeding that will not stop. Collapse or a seizure that does not stop.

Go to A&E for a serious head injury, especially with vomiting, drowsiness or a blood thinner, a severe allergic reaction, suspected sepsis, severe abdominal pain, or an overdose.

For a child, call 999 if they are floppy, unusually drowsy, struggling to breathe, or have a rash that does not fade under a glass.

What counts as urgent but not an emergency

Most problems that make people think about A&E are urgent rather than life-threatening. A high temperature that is not settling. A chest infection, a severe sore throat or an ear infection. A urinary infection, particularly with fever or back pain. A rash that is spreading. Vomiting or diarrhoea where you are worried about fluids. Back pain that stops you working. A migraine that is worse than usual. An unwell child who needs examining. Running out of an essential medicine.

These need a doctor today. They do not usually need the resources of an emergency department, and they are seen faster and more thoroughly elsewhere.

Which urgent care option is right for your problem

Private urgent care centres suit injuries in adults. HCA UK's centres and the Cromwell Hospital have X-ray and blood tests on site, so a suspected broken wrist or ankle, a cut that needs stitches or a sprain is well handled there. They see adults only, and children are directed to a separate children's centre.

NHS urgent treatment centres do the same for free, with waits that depend on how busy they are.

Pharmacies treat 7 common conditions under Pharmacy First without an appointment, including sinusitis, sore throat, earache in children, infected insect bites, impetigo, shingles and uncomplicated urinary infection in women aged 16 to 64.

A same-day private doctor suits everything else. A new illness that needs a history and examination, an unwell child, infections, pain, medication, and anything where you would rather the doctor came to you.

Ask where you should be seen on WhatsApp or email team@thewellnesslondon.com.

What does a proper urgent assessment involve

Time and an examination. The history comes first, when the problem started, how it has changed, what makes it worse and what you have already tried. Then the observations that separate the safe from the unsafe, including temperature, pulse, blood pressure, breathing rate and oxygen saturation.

For children, NICE guideline NG143 sets out a traffic light system for fever in the under 5s, and an examination is what places a child safely in the group that can be looked after at home.

For infections, the decision about antibiotics rests on the examination. Most sore throats and coughs are viral, and antibiotics help where there are clear bacterial features and not where there are none.

And a plan for what happens if things change. Clear advice on which symptoms mean you should come back or call 999 is part of every urgent assessment.

What if you need tests or a scan

Blood tests can be arranged the same day at an accredited partner laboratory, with results discussed with you by the doctor who ordered them.

Ultrasound is arranged at the London centre best equipped for the question, performed by an experienced sonographer and reported by a consultant radiologist. We own no scanner and no laboratory, so the test is chosen because it answers the question, not to keep a machine busy.

We do not have X-ray on site. If a fracture is suspected, we tell you so and direct you to an urgent care centre or urgent treatment centre that can X-ray it today, which is faster than seeing us first.

Can a doctor come to you

Yes, and for urgent illness this is often the best option. A feverish child, an older parent who is unsteady, a guest unwell in a hotel room, or anyone too ill to travel comfortably.

Home, hotel and office visits are available across central London, in the daytime and in the evenings and at weekends, with each additional household member seen in the same visit. The doctor brings the equipment to examine properly, issues prescriptions to a pharmacy near you, and arranges any tests.

What does private urgent care cost in London

Membership services that bundle urgent access charge annual fees running into thousands before any visit, and Harley Street GP consultations sit at £250 to £350. Visiting doctor services commonly charge £195 to £350 in the daytime and more at night. HCA UK's urgent care centres charge around £130 for a first doctor consultation and the Cromwell Hospital £191, with X-rays, blood tests and treatment billed on top.

At The Wellness each appointment is a single fee, with prescriptions, fit notes and referral letters included. All figures are from prices.

  • Individual Membership with unlimited same-day GP consultations, from £4,995 a year.

  • Home, hotel or office visit, evenings and weekends from £695 and daytime from £495, with additional household members from £195 each.

  • Extended 45-minute consultation for complex or multiple problems, from £395.

  • In-person consultation, 30 minutes with examination, from £220.

  • Same-day video consultation, from £150.

  • Mini consultation for a single straightforward question, from £59.

Open 7 days a week at 10 Portman Square, Marylebone, 3 minutes from Baker Street.

Why The Wellness sets the standard for same-day urgent care in London

Because we tell you when we are not the right place. Chest pain goes to 999 and a suspected fracture goes to an X-ray. That costs us appointments, and it is why our advice can be trusted when it points to us.

Because you get a time rather than a queue. A WhatsApp message usually secures an appointment within hours, 7 days a week.

Because we see the whole family. Adults and children are seen together, in the clinic or at home, where most private urgent care centres see adults only.

Because 30 minutes with examination solves more. The history is taken properly, the red flags are checked, and treatment is based on what the examination shows.

And because the appointment finishes the job. The prescription, the fit note, the blood test, the scan and the referral are arranged there and then.

Related reading

Walk-in doctor in London covers every same-day option, weekend and evening doctor covers Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays, private GP home visits covers doctors who come to you, hotel doctor in London covers visitors, and private GP for children and families covers unwell children.

Book an urgent appointment on WhatsApp or call 020 3951 3429.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a private A&E in London

Not in the full sense. Private hospitals do not run emergency departments, and heart attacks, strokes and major trauma go to NHS emergency departments. Private urgent care centres, a same-day private doctor and home visits cover urgent problems that are not life-threatening.

How much is private urgent care in London

HCA UK's urgent care centres charge around £130 for a first doctor consultation and the Cromwell Hospital £191, with tests and treatment extra. At The Wellness a same-day video consultation is from £150, a 30-minute in-person consultation from £220 and a home or hotel visit from £495.

Should I go to A&E or see a private doctor

Go to A&E or call 999 for chest pain, stroke symptoms, severe breathing difficulty, heavy bleeding, collapse or a serious injury. For infections, fever, pain, rashes, an unwell child or medication, a same-day doctor is usually faster and more thorough.

Can private urgent care see children

Most private urgent care centres in London see adults only and direct children to a separate children's centre. At The Wellness children and families are seen together in the clinic or at home.

What if I think I have broken a bone

A suspected fracture needs an X-ray, so go to an urgent care centre or urgent treatment centre with X-ray on site. We do not have X-ray and will tell you so rather than delay you.

Can a doctor come to my home or hotel today

Yes. Visits are from £495 in the daytime and £695 in the evening or at weekends, with additional household members seen in the same visit from £195 each.

The Wellness is a doctor-led private healthcare group providing medical care from 10 Portman Square, Marylebone, adjacent to Harley Street. All doctors are GMC-registered. Prescriptions are issued only following a consultation and clinical assessment. Imaging is arranged at specialist centres and reported by consultant radiologists, and blood analysis is performed by accredited laboratories. In an emergency call 999. This article is general information and not a substitute for medical advice about your own health.

Enquire now on WhatsApp or email team@thewellnesslondon.com or call 020 3951 3429.

References

Dr Jones
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