Allura guide
Private GPs in the UK — when it makes sense
Same-day appointments versus a 2-3 week NHS wait. Where private GPs add value, and where you're paying for convenience you don't need.
25 April 2026 · Allura editors
The private GP market in the UK has roughly tripled since 2019. People are paying £85-150 for a 15-minute video consultation that would be free on the NHS — sometimes because the wait genuinely matters, sometimes out of frustration.
Where private GPs are clearly worth it
- Same-day antibiotics for an obvious infection. UTI, tonsillitis, mastitis, suspected impetigo — when the diagnosis is clinical and the script is straightforward, paying £85 to skip a 9am-phoneline-cattle-call beats waiting three days.
- Travel medicine and yellow fever. The NHS doesn't fund this and travel clinics are typically £60-150 anyway.
- Referral letter to a private specialist. If you already know you want to see a private dermatologist or ENT, a private GP will write the letter the same week. NHS GPs will usually refer to NHS specialists by default.
- Sick notes and fitness-to-work letters. Some employers want them faster than the NHS will issue.
Where private GPs add little
- Anything that needs investigations. A private GP can order bloodwork, but they can't fast-track NHS imaging. If you need an MRI, you're either paying for the scan privately or waiting on the NHS list anyway.
- Mental health beyond a first-line SSRI prescription. A 15-minute video appointment isn't enough for most non-trivial mental health work. You're better off going to a properly trained private psychiatrist or therapist.
- Anything chronic. A private GP can prescribe a single repeat. They can't manage a chronic condition without dramatically more time and continuity than £85/15min buys.
How to pick one
- GMC + on the GP register. Both are required for someone to practice as a GP in the UK. Allura verifies these.
- CQC-registered service if it's an in-person clinic. For purely digital services (Livi, Babylon, Asda Online Doctor) the registration belongs to the provider company, not the individual GP — that's still meaningful.
- A clear shared-care policy. Will they communicate with your NHS GP? Will they refer you for follow-on NHS investigations? The good ones have a documented process.
What we'd want a friend to know
For most things you'd ring an NHS GP about, a private GP is convenience-as-a-service. That's a legitimate purchase. But don't pay £150 to a private GP for advice that could just be 'wait two weeks, drink fluids, paracetamol' — that advice was always free.