Treatment at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust is free to anyone eligible for NHS care. 

If you would prefer to be treated as a private patient (not NHS) or are an international patient (someone who does not live in the United Kingdom), this page explains the options available to you.  

Private patients

Clatterbridge Private Clinic is here to help if you have private health insurance, would like to self-fund private care or are not eligible for NHS treatment and would like to be treated here as a private patient. 

It is recognised by all the major UK health insurers and has clinics in Liverpool and Wirral. Profits from Clatterbridge Private Clinic are reinvested back into the NHS. 

International patients

Treatment at our hospital is free to people who are ‘ordinarily resident’ in the United Kingdom (UK) – this means you are living in the UK lawfully and are properly settled here. 

If you do not normally live in the UK and are not in one of the exemption categories below, you will have to pay for any treatment that you need. We recommend that you make sure you have adequate health insurance to cover you while in the UK.

This applies even if you: 

  • Are a British citizen
  • Have lived or worked here in the past, or
  • Have been issued with a HC2 certificate

The question you need to ask yourself is:

Where have I lived for the past 12 months?

If the answer is the UK and you can show that you have the right to live here, then you will not have to pay anything. 

Exemption categories

People who are not ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK are eligible for NHS treatment in the following cases (exemption categories):

  • If you receive treatment in an Accident and Emergency (A&E) department, or an NHS Walk-in Centre providing similar services to those of A&E – this exemption does not apply to emergency treatment given elsewhere in the hospital
  • If you are employed in an EEA country and contribute to compulsory UK national insurance (class I or II)
  • If you are a national of an EEA country, a refugee, or survivor living in an EEA country, for specified treatment with an EC form E112

If you do not fit into any of these exemption categories, then you will be charged for the full cost of the treatment you receive, including emergency treatment.

You will be asked to agree to pay the full cost of your anticipated treatment before we start your treatment. We prefer you to pay this by banker’s draft or bank transfer, but we also accept credit cards and debit cards.

If you have travel insurance, you will have to pay for your treatment first and claim it back from your insurance company afterwards. If you need further treatment for any reason, additional fees will be charged.

Exemption assessment

If you think that you should be exempt from paying for your care:

  • Our Registrations Administration Team will ask you to provide evidence that you are eligible for free NHS treatment – we are required by law to do this.

If we decide that you can receive free NHS treatment:

  • You will still have to pay statutory NHS fees (such as prescription charges), unless you are exempt.

If we decide that you are not entitled to free NHS treatment (in line with the national regulations):

  • You will have to pay for your treatment and the full cost of any prescribed medication, even if you have an HC2 exemption certificate.

Further information