Payments and invoices

All questions

  • Self-funding patients

    Once you have attended your appointment and received a request for payment from us, you can make an online payment.

    If you would like to pay by bank transfer or pay over the phone, contact our Customer Services team.

    Insured patients

    When a charge has been submitted to your insurer but a shortfall has meant you have a balance to pay, your insurer will usually contact you to confirm the level of contribution you will need to make and the reasoning for their assessment.

    Once Spire Healthcare has been made aware of the shortfall we will write to you and our correspondence will confirm we had attempted to submit the balance to your insurers, but have been advised you have a contribution to make. The breakdown of the charges you receive from us will also state “Insurer advised patient liability” along with the balance that has not been covered by your policy.

    If you are ever unsure we recommend you call your insurer to confirm what they have assessed or speak to our Customer Services team.

    NHS patients

    During your stay you’ll need to pay for personal items such as newspapers, meals for your visitors or telephone calls as these costs are not covered by the NHS.

    We'll ask you for your credit or debit card details when you come into hospital and will keep these details until all sundry items have been paid in full.

    Make a payment online
  • Give the hospital you are due to attend a call to make a down payment towards an upcoming appointment.

    Find your Spire hospital
  • Your consultant will charge for their professional fees covering their time and expertise to perform the procedure, usually alongside a separate consultation fee.

    These fees should be paid directly to your consultant or their representative.

  • In most cases, we can rebill a charge to your insurer for you.

    Please contact our Customer Services team and we can get the charge redirected for you. We will need some information to complete this:

    • Which insurer you're covered by
    • Your policy or membership number
    • A claim or authorisation code

    If you don’t have these details your insurer should be able to supply them to you.

    Please note that there are certain items, including but not limited to take home medications and physiotherapy aids, which we are contractually unable to bill to your insurer directly. In these instances we will ask you to make payment to Spire Healthcare and reclaim any eligible costs from your insurer.

    Contact our Customer Services team
  • Self-funding patients

    For most procedures performed in outpatients, or a consultation room, it is normal to receive an invoice from both Spire Healthcare and your consultant.

    Your consultant will charge for their professional fees covering their time and expertise to perform the procedure, usually alongside a separate consultation fee. These fees should be paid directly to your consultant or their representative.

    Spire Healthcare will charge for the cost of the procedure itself, covering the use of equipment, facilities and consumables. These fees are separate to those charged by your consultant and should be paid to Spire Healthcare.

  • Insured patients

    We have contracts with your insurer that allow us to bill them on your behalf. These contracts prevent us from billing take home items such as medications or crutches directly to them. In almost every case they will not cover these items and they will be billable to you.

    This does not mean your insurer will refuse to assess these items for you, so you may be able to reclaim the cost against your policy. We recommend that you confirm this with your insurer and in the event that your insurer will assess the charge, we can provide you with a receipted invoice upon payment to allow you to seek reimbursement.

  • Insured patients

    It’s quite normal for your insurer to contact you before they advise Spire Healthcare of a charge being due from yourself.

    All you need do is to wait to be contacted from Spire Healthcare directly. We will confirm how you can make payment of your account.

  • Self-funding patients

    It is more usual for outpatient costs to be collected after treatment. Payment for inpatient and day case appointments are often taken before treatment. 

    When you attend the hospital we will take a swipe of your card details which is applied to your patient account. Once your invoice has been created we'll write to you to confirm when payment will be collected.

    If you are uncertain we would advise that you check with your card provider or contact our Customer Services team.

    Contact Customer Services
  • Self-funding patients

    Your card details will be taken at the hospital and added to your account with Spire Healthcare before your treatment takes place.

    An invoice will be raised after your appointment and we'll write to you advising when payment is due to be collected from your card.

    If you're in agreement with the payment being requested you won't need to do anything further and the payment will be processed automatically.

    If our correspondence does not advise when payment is due to be collected you can either complete payment online or you can call our Customer Services team who can ensure payment is collected correctly.

    Contact Customer Services
  • If you pay your bill online you'll receive an email confirming the funds have been received.

    If you need a full page receipt, or receipted invoice, our Customer Services team can arrange this for you.

    Contact Customer Services
  • Your card details are kept for six months following the last treatment.

    If you haven't attended the hospital again after this point your card details will be removed from our records.

  • If you’re paying for your treatment

    We take credit/debit card details on arrival at the hospital reception or over the telephone to cover any additional costs of care (such as diagnostic tests) in line with our patient terms. Payment will usually be taken on the day of your appointment. If we have been unable to take payment on the day of your appointment, you will receive an invoice statement shortly after your visit and after seven days your card will be charged automatically.

    If you have private medical insurance

    Some people find that they are not fully covered by their insurance policy. This is usually due to having an excess on the policy or because certain investigations or treatments are not covered due to an annual limit.

    Please note that pharmacy items prescribed on a private prescription for outpatient visits are not covered by any insurer and you will need to pay for these by credit/debit card.

    As a result of insufficient cover, you may have incurred charges that need to be paid. These outstanding charges may not be identified until several weeks after your hospital visit and when your insurer has settled only part of our invoice. We will, therefore, ask you for credit/debit card details, which will enable us to take care of any outstanding payments not covered by your policy.

    We will hold your card details for a period of time but may need to request them again for future visits. The process is simple. Your insurer informs you that there are outstanding charges due to Spire Healthcare and we will write to you to confirm the amount you need to pay. You will have seven days from the date of our letter to query this outstanding payment before your card is debited.

    If you are an NHS patient

    The NHS covers all the costs of your treatment with us. We will ask for credit/debit card details to cover extra personal items, such as phone calls or newspapers, just as you would in an NHS hospital.

    Note for all patients

    Credit/debit card details are held securely on the hospital system in accordance with industry standards. You will have seven days in which to query any charges. If you have any queries regarding any charges on your invoice statement, the hospital’s central
    finance office is available to discuss this with you.