Private healthcare in Newcastle: hospitals, specialties and how to access them

Newcastle does not have a single private-hospital district of the kind some cities have. The three independent hospitals that publish their own pages sit on different sides of the Tyne conurbation, and the NHS trust's private arm is based inside the Royal Victoria Infirmary complex. Which one suits you depends first on where you live and whether you will drive.

Nuffield Health's hospital is the closest to the centre: its address is Clayton Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 1JP, in Jesmond. Cobalt Hospital is further out to the north-east, at Cobalt Business Park, Silverlink North, NE27 0BY, between a hotel and the roundabout entrance to the business park. Spire Washington is the furthest, on Picktree Lane in Rickleton, NE38 9JZ, and is easiest by car from the A1(M).

Because the three differ so much in size and in the specialties they emphasise, it is sensible to start from the treatment you need rather than the building. The specialty pages linked at the end of this guide cover gastroenterology, orthopaedics, rheumatology and general surgery in more depth.

The table below only includes what each organisation lists on its own website at the time of checking. A specialty missing from a row may still be offered by individual consultants, so treat the table as a starting point for questions rather than a complete service catalogue.

Nuffield Health Newcastle states that Jesmond Metro station is less than a ten-minute walk from its entrance. That makes it the straightforward choice if you are coming from the coast or the airport line, or from the city centre on the Metro. The patient car park at the front is limited, but the hospital notes free parking for up to two hours on Clayton Road itself and further free spaces nearby, which is worth knowing before an appointment that may overrun.

Cobalt describes itself as a single-storey building with automatic doors and wide corridors, with free on-site parking including bays for disabled drivers. For public transport its page names Northumberland Park Metro station, linked onward by the number 19 bus, and Go North East and Arriva services; it also gives a taxi of 15 to 20 minutes from Newcastle Central station. Anyone relying on buses should check the timetable for the return journey, because day-surgery discharge times are not fixed.

Spire Washington gives directions from junction 63 of the A1(M): follow the signs towards Chester-le-Street, leave at the Picktree exit and continue for roughly a mile. Its page says a train passenger should expect about 20 minutes by taxi from Durham or Newcastle stations, around 25 minutes from Newcastle Airport, and refers bus users to the Traveline North East journey planner. Parking is free on site.

Nuffield Health Newcastle lists scans and radiology, outpatient consulting rooms, inpatient beds with matron-led nursing and theatres. Its published opening pattern gives weekday outpatient sessions from 08:30 to 20:30 and Saturday mornings, with radiology open on weekdays from 08:00 to 20:00 and on weekends until 17:00, which can matter if you work shifts.

Cobalt is a day-surgery unit with two theatres and recovery areas, backed by consulting and examination rooms. Its diagnostics page lists upper GI endoscopy, colonoscopy, flexible sigmoidoscopy, gastroscopy and flexible male cystoscopy, and its home page highlights accreditation from the Joint Advisory Group for endoscopy. The pages retrieved do not list CT or MRI at Cobalt, so ask where larger scans would be done.

Spire Washington lists CT, MRI and X-ray among its diagnostic imaging and describes surgical work in general surgery, orthopaedics, cosmetic surgery, gynaecology and weight-loss procedures. None of the three is an emergency hospital: if you become acutely unwell, call 999 or go to A&E, and use NHS 111 for urgent advice.

Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust runs the Royal Victoria Infirmary, the Freeman Hospital and the Great North Children's Hospital. Many private consultants in the city also hold NHS posts, which is why a consultant you see privately may share a name with someone in the trust's rheumatology, gastroenterology or surgical teams. Ask which hospital you would be admitted to if something went wrong, because independent units do not have the trust's intensive care beds on site.

Commissioning for the area sits with NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board. That is the body whose waiting-list guidance and referral policies apply to a GP in Newcastle, and it is the body you would contact about NHS funding questions, not a private hospital.

The trust also runs Newcastle Hospitals private healthcare from an office at Peacock Hall in the RVI, offering treatment direct or through an insurer. Its website says income from private work is invested back into NHS services. Whether a given specialty is offered there is not stated on the page retrieved, so confirm it with the trust.

• England is the only UK nation with the Right to Choose; if you live in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland the rules and waiting-time standards differ.

• The NHS England guide says non-urgent consultant-led care should start within 18 weeks of referral, and that the My Planned Care website lets you compare hospitals.

• Suspected cancer is handled on a separate pathway, with a diagnosis confirmed or ruled out within 28 days under the Faster Diagnosis Standard.

There are three common routes. With a GP letter, your GP writes to a named consultant or hospital; Nuffield Health says some of its consultants require this letter, while cosmetic surgery and private GP appointments do not. With self-referral, you choose a consultant from the hospital's directory and arrange the first appointment yourself, which Nuffield Health says is possible online or through its outpatient team. With insurer pre-authorisation, your policy may require you to obtain an authorisation code before the first consultation and may restrict you to certain consultants or hospitals.

Self-pay patients should ask what a quoted package includes. Nuffield Health and Cobalt both describe all-inclusive pathways covering tests, treatment and aftercare, and Spire Washington's page describes self-pay and insurance routes and an in-house insurance product. These are the providers' own descriptions, and anything outside a quote, such as a second operation or an unplanned overnight stay, deserves a direct question.

If you want NHS treatment at an independent hospital, the route is different: Cobalt's NHS page says its services are bookable through the NHS e-Referral Service on a GP referral, and describes an aim of treating NHS patients within 18 weeks of the referral letter.

• Which site will the consultant operate at, and is the clinic held in the same building?

• Are the scans you are likely to need done on the premises or at another site?

• If you travel by Metro, how far is the walk, and who can collect you after sedation?

• What happens if you need intensive care or an emergency transfer?

• Does an advertised fixed price cover the consultant, anaesthetist, implants, physiotherapy and follow-up?