Private neurology in London: headache, nerve and spine services by hospital

Neurology is the medical side of the nervous system: diagnosing headaches, epilepsy, nerve and muscle disorders, tremor and memory problems, and managing them with drugs, tests and rehabilitation. Neurosurgery is the operative side, covering the brain, the spine and the nerves. London hospitals often combine the two on a single page, which makes the wording important. Spire London East lists them together as neurosurgery and neurology and describes diagnosis and care for conditions that affect the nervous system, with headaches, nerve pain (neuralgia) and spinal conditions that need surgery as its named conditions.

At Redbridge, the tests named are nerve conduction studies and electromyography, both of which assess how electrical signals travel along nerves and into muscle, along with discography for back pain investigation. The treatment list includes back surgery, neuralgia treatment, headache treatment and spinal cord stimulation, a device that delivers small electrical pulses to the spinal cord for long-term nerve pain. The hospital also has CT, MRI and ultrasound.

Nuffield Health Highgate describes neurology as the prevention, diagnosis and rehabilitation of disorders affecting any part of the nervous system, and names brain surgery, pituitary surgery and spinal fusion. The Harley Street Clinic and The Wellington both list neurology and neurosurgery; The Wellington adds Gamma Knife radiotherapy and intraoperative MRI. The Lister also lists neurology and neurosurgery. None of the pages gives a full clinic-by-clinic breakdown for conditions like epilepsy or movement disorders, so you will need to ask whether the hospital runs the clinic you need.

Spire London East is on Roding Lane South (IG4 5PZ). Redbridge Underground station is within walking distance, bus 366 from the station stops opposite, and 152 spaces are free. It reports MRI, CT, ultrasound and mammography, and a JAG-accredited endoscopy unit that is unrelated to neurology but tells you it runs as a full hospital.

The Wellington is at 8A Wellington Place, St John's Wood (NW8 9LE). It is near St John's Wood station with buses 13, 46, 113, 117, 187 and 274, while parking is on the street or in independent car parks. It states a 30-bed intensive care capacity and an acute admissions unit, and an urgent care centre taking walk-ins every day for non-life-threatening problems. For a person with a neurological problem who may need to stay overnight for monitoring, those details matter.

The Harley Street Clinic is at 35 Weymouth Street (W1G 8BJ). Its page lists the 18, 27, 30, 205 and 453 buses, Underground stations within five to twelve minutes' walk and London Marylebone at fifteen, with on-street metered parking. Imaging includes MRI, CT, ultrasound, interventional radiology and nuclear medicine.

Nuffield Health Highgate is at 17-19 View Road (N6 4DJ), with limited free on-site parking and free parking on surrounding roads outside weekday restrictions between 10am and 12pm. The page described MRI through a mobile unit and CT being provided at other hospitals while upgrade work continued, so ask where a brain or spine scan would be done on your date.

Headache is the commonest reason for referral. A neurologist will usually spend most of a first visit on history: when the pain began, how long it lasts, what accompanies it, what medicines you have tried and how often you take painkillers. Migraine is diagnosed on that history rather than a scan. A scan is more likely when there are red-flag features, such as headache that is new after the age of 50, worsening quickly, waking you at night or accompanied by weakness or visual loss.

For tingling, numbness or weakness in a limb, nerve conduction studies and EMG can show whether a nerve is being squeezed, as in carpal tunnel syndrome, or whether the problem lies in the nerve root or muscle. Back and leg pain from a trapped nerve may lead to an MRI of the spine, as Spire London East's imaging and discography listing suggests; options then range from physiotherapy and injections to surgery. Neuralgia, sharp shooting nerve pain, is treated primarily with medication, and specialists may consider neuromodulation, such as spinal cord stimulation, when other options fail.

Other conditions that fall under neurology include epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, memory disorders and stroke prevention. Pages for individual hospitals in this guide do not describe clinics for each, so a patient with a defined diagnosis should ask whether a consultant with an interest in that condition practises at the hospital and how monitoring is shared with the GP and any NHS neurology team.

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust runs an international and private patients service from Denmark Hill that lists neurosciences and neurosurgery. Guy's and St Thomas' lists a wide range of private services across six London locations, though its page does not name neurology specifically. Both trusts say private income goes back into NHS services. Which NHS board is yours depends on your GP practice, among North East London, South East London, South West London, and West and North London.

In England the NHS says the maximum waiting time for non-urgent consultant-led treatment is 18 weeks, and that patients can choose the provider for a first outpatient appointment. Neurology is often among the longest NHS waits, which is a reason many people ask about private routes, but it is also a specialty where continuity matters. If you have an NHS neurologist, tell them about private tests and bring reports to both sides.

Facilities and services change, so confirm each point directly with the hospital.

• Does the hospital run the specific clinic you need, such as epilepsy, movement disorders or headache, or only general neurology?

• Are nerve conduction studies and EMG done on site, and who reports them?

• If surgery is possible, would the neurosurgeon operate here, and where would you be looked after in an emergency overnight?

• Which scans are done on site on your date, and will a radiologist with neuro-imaging experience report them?

• How will results and any medication be shared with your GP?

• What are the consultant's fee and the hospital's fee for the first appointment, tests and any follow-up?

A sudden drooping of the face, weakness in an arm or leg, slurred speech, sudden loss of vision, a sudden severe headache unlike any before, or a first seizure needs an emergency response, not a clinic booking. Dial 999. HCA's urgent care centres at The Wellington and other sites say that life-threatening conditions belong in an NHS A&E department.

For slower problems, such as tremor, memory change, persistent tingling or recurring headaches, start with your GP. They can arrange blood tests, review medicines and decide whether an NHS or private neurology appointment is the right next step.