Neurosurgery at NHS Shetland
Privately, lumbar decompression (1 or 2 levels) costs much the same wherever you go in Scotland — £12,293–£12,383 across 2 providers.
NHS Shetland covers Lerwick and the surrounding area.
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Waiting on the NHS
Neurosurgery
NHS Shetland
How long people currently on the list have waited so far. Someone referred last week counts as a one-week wait, so this reads low too — just less so.
No waiting time has been published for Neurosurgery at NHS Shetland for the current reporting period. That means the figures are missing, not that the service is. Small boards sometimes refer patients elsewhere for a specialty rather than running their own list — your GP can tell you which board you’d actually be referred to.
Paying privately
Neurosurgery
Priced as lumbar decompression (1 or 2 levels)
Spinal surgery rather than brain surgery — lumbar decompression is one of the commonest neurosurgical operations and one of the few with a published price. Other neurosurgery costs very different amounts.
£12,293–£12,383
Typical self-pay price range
Package price: the procedure, hospital stay and standard follow-up. What else is covered varies by provider.
Based on 2 providers in Scotland
- Ross Hall Hospital, Glasgow£12,293
- Albyn Hospital, Aberdeen£12,383
Last checked 5 August 2026. Prices are Scotland-wide, not specific to your health board — self-pay patients can be treated at any private hospital. A quote for your own case may fall outside this range.
Typical self-pay cost: £12,293–£12,383.
Paying to find out, rather than paying to fix it
Some people pay privately for a consultation or a scan, then take the results back to the NHS. It costs hundreds rather than thousands, and what it buys is a diagnosis — not a place further up any queue.
Initial consultant appointment
4 providers: Spire Edinburgh Hospitals, Ross Hall Hospital, Albyn Hospital, Kings Park Hospital
£191–£275
Ultrasound scan
1 provider: Nuffield Health Edinburgh Hospital
On the NHS here: 116 people waiting, median 11 days, 31% over six weeks.
£330
MRI scan (one area)
2 providers: Nuffield Health Glasgow Hospital, Spire Edinburgh Hospitals
On the NHS here: 82 people waiting, median 18 days, 13% over six weeks.
£470–£625
CT scan (one area)
1 provider: Nuffield Health Glasgow Hospital
On the NHS here: 51 people waiting, median 12 days, 10% over six weeks.
£650
NHS diagnostic figures are for NHS Shetland as at 2026-03, and count people currently on the list rather than how long completed patients waited. That dataset is published a few months behind the treatment waits above.
A scan does not change your position on the NHS list by itself. What it can do is establish how urgent your case is, and urgency is what determines priority. Whether a private result is accepted, and what happens next, is a matter for your GP and your health board — ask them before spending anything. Scan prices usually exclude the consultant appointment needed to refer you and to interpret the result.