Which sources did you open?
- PHIN: average private hospital package prices (page updated 22 April 2026). Average self-pay cataract package price per eye by city, prices collected March 2026. Opened 5 October 2026.
- PHIN: cataract surgery guide (page updated 27 March 2026). Initial consultation typically £180 to £250; lens add-ons; NHS typically uses a monofocal lens. Opened 5 October 2026.
- PHIN: private healthcare market update, June 2026 (page updated 2 June 2026). Cataract admissions in 2025: 80,875 in total, 49,655 self-pay. Opened 5 October 2026.
- PHIN: private healthcare market update, September 2026 (page updated 8 September 2026). Q1 2026 cataract admissions 22,805, up 12.8%. Opened 5 October 2026.
- NICE NG77: Cataracts in adults, management, recommendations (published 26 October 2017). Recommendations 1.2.1, 1.2.2 (referral), 1.4.2 (multifocal lenses), 1.4.5 (astigmatism), 1.6.2 (second eye), 1.6.3 and 1.6.4 (bilateral simultaneous surgery). Opened 5 October 2026.
- NHS England: consultant-led RTT waiting times data 2026-27. Index page; latest month listed July 2026. Opened 5 October 2026.
- NHS England: Incomplete Commissioner July 2026 (published 10 September 2026). Ophthalmology Service, England, incomplete pathways: median 10.2 weeks, 72.9% within 18 weeks, 620,931 waiting. Opened 5 October 2026.
- NHS England: Admitted Commissioner July 2026 (published 10 September 2026). Ophthalmology Service, England, admitted pathways: median 12.4 weeks. Opened 5 October 2026.
- GOV.UK / DVLA: driving eyesight rules. Linked, not restated. Opened 5 October 2026.
- GOV.UK / DVLA: eye conditions and driving. Linked, not restated. Opened 5 October 2026.
- Practice Plus Group: price page. £2,099 per eye (standard monofocal lens). Consultant fees, pre-op nurse review, anaesthetic, prescriptions, post-op appointments. Initial consultation £145 extra; diagnostic tests charged if needed. Lens: Enhanced monofocal £2,249; toric £2,649; multifocal £2,949; extended depth of focus £3,099 (whole price per eye). Opened 5 October 2026.
- Newmedica: price page. £2,295 per eye (standard monofocal lens). Consultant's fee, clinic facilities, lens, aftercare. Consultation free with cataract surgery. Lens: Premium monofocal £2,795; toric £3,195; multifocal or extended depth of focus £3,595 (whole price per eye). Opened 5 October 2026.
- Nuffield Health: price page. £3,613 average guide price, one eye. Pre-assessment, operation, post-discharge care. Initial consultation from £200 extra. Nuffield says the final price may vary with consultant fees, prosthesis or drugs. Lens: Not priced on the page we checked. Opened 5 October 2026.
- Spire Healthcare, as read by TreatCompare: price page. £3,275 median across 31 hospitals (range £2,757–£5,631), one eye. TreatCompare says Spire's wording includes the consultant fee and initial consultation. Lens: Not separated in the figure. Opened 5 October 2026.
- Spire Healthcare: cataract surgery. Opened 5 October 2026; no price on the national page, so no Spire figure is taken from it.
What could you not verify?
- PHIN publishes no average price for Nottingham, Leicester, Southampton, Brighton, Oxford or Reading, so we show none.
- Spire Healthcare's national cataract page showed no price when we opened it. We show Spire only as TreatCompare reports it, labelled.
- NHS England publishes ophthalmology waits, not a cataract-only national figure.
- We quote no local NHS area threshold, because we have not opened one.
When were these sources checked?
All were opened on 5 October 2026. Each price row and figure shows that date.
Why is there no figure for my city?
Either the source does not publish one or we could not re-open it. We leave a figure out rather than estimate it.
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