How Much Does a Private Doctor Cost in the Gulf? Engagement Models and Fees for Private Families
The five engagement models a private family uses for a personal physician — Live-In, Rotational, Fixed-Term, Travelling and Locum — with indicative tax-free packages in Pounds Sterling and what each model actually buys.
The question we are asked most often by a chief of staff or family office setting up private medical provision for the first time is not clinical. It is financial and structural: what does a private doctor cost, and what is the right way to engage one? The honest answer is that the cost is a function of the model, and the model is a function of how much of the physician’s time and judgement the household needs to own outright. This page sets out the engagement models we place against, the indicative package for each, what sits inside the figure and what sits outside it. The clinical side of the appointment — scope, autonomy, the difference between a household physician and a hospital consultant — is covered in Private Doctor for a Private Family.
The Short Answer
£240,000 to £400,000 Tax-Free for a Resident Physician
Locum and travelling appointments from £185,000
A UK & European-trained physician engaged as a resident Private & Concierge Physician by a private family is typically packaged at £240,000–£400,000 tax-free, before housing, insurance and travel. Locum and travelling appointments, which are short-term or part-year, begin at £185,000. These are different appointments rather than different points on one range. Everything below explains what separates them.
Request a Confidential Brief →The five engagement models, and what each one buys
The private families we work with require clinicians who relocate alone: every role is live-in and single-status. Within that, every private physician appointment we place follows one of five models. They are not tiers of the same service; they are different services, and choosing the wrong one is the most common and most expensive mistake a household makes. The full taxonomy is described in the five deployment models private families use for their clinicians.
1. Live-In
One physician, engaged exclusively and living within the residence, responsible for family medicine and preventive care for the principal and immediate household, reachable outside hours, and coordinating specialist referrals. This is the default model for a private family with a resident principal, and the reference point for most of the figures on this page. Where the physician also leads the household’s nurses and physiotherapist, the appointment remains Live-In and the package reflects that seniority within the resident band. The doctor’s clinical autonomy inside the household — the freedom to run screening, refer and escalate without an institution’s committee — is the feature that attracts the strongest candidates, and it should be written into the brief.
2. Rotational
Two physicians share the appointment on a fixed rota agreed with the family, each living in while on rotation, so that the principal is never without cover and continuity of care does not depend on one person. The figure for each physician reflects the rota agreed with the family.
3. Fixed-Term
A defined live-in period — a recovery programme, a season at one residence, or a period of heightened care — after which the appointment ends as planned. It is scoped and priced on the duration and the breadth of the programme.
4. Travelling
The live-in model plus mobility: the physician travels with the principal between the family’s residences and, for some families, aboard a Mediterranean yacht for the season. Because the appointment is part-year rather than resident year-round, it sits in the first tier; the figure reflects availability and mobility. The maritime version is described in Maritime & Superyacht Medical Staffing.
5. Locum
Short-notice live-in cover for an existing physician’s leave. A full-time physician takes leave, and a household that has not planned relief will either go without care or improvise it. Our locum cover for private families mandate exists for exactly this.
Indicative packages by model
All figures are tax-free, in Pounds Sterling, drawn from current and recent mandates, and indicative: they vary by seniority, specialism and the travel commitment attached to the role. They are a planning basis, not a quotation for any specific appointment. Two tiers run through the table — locum, fixed-term and travelling appointments from £185,000, and a resident Private & Concierge Physician at £240,000 to £400,000 — and they describe different appointments, priced for different reasons, rather than two points on one range.
| Model | Indicative package (tax-free, £) | What drives the figure |
|---|---|---|
| Live-In — resident Private & Concierge Physician, including a physician leading the household’s medical team | £240,000 – £400,000 | Family medicine and longevity focus; seniority; size of the household; team leadership where it applies |
| Rotational — paired physicians on a fixed rota | Per physician, reflecting the rota agreed | Length and pattern of the rota; seniority |
| Travelling — lives and travels with the family; part-year | From £185,000, plus travel and per-diem provisions | Months away per year; yacht seasons |
| Fixed-Term and Locum — defined or short-notice live-in cover | From £185,000 per year, scoped to the duration | Duration; breadth of the programme; notice period |
The consultant-level benchmark that underpins the upper band is published in Consultant Salary in Saudi Arabia 2026: What Private Families Actually Pay, and the relationship itself — why a household engages a physician to a person rather than a rota — is examined in The Private & Concierge Physician: what the appointment covers, and for how long.
What sits inside the figure, and what sits outside it
| Usually inside the package | Usually provided in addition | Budget separately |
|---|---|---|
| Base salary, paid monthly | Accommodation within the residence | Executive search fee (see search fees) |
| End-of-service award, where applicable | Premium medical insurance for the physician | Medical equipment for a residence clinic or yacht suite |
| Defined on-call and out-of-hours commitment | Annual flights and relocation costs (the appointment is single-status) | Visiting specialist fees and diagnostics referred outside the household |
| Professional indemnity arranged for the scope of practice | Vehicle or driver, where the residence requires it | Locum cover during the physician’s leave |
Two items deserve a line of their own. Professional indemnity for a physician working in a private residence must match the scope actually performed — a family physician who also runs IV therapies or minor procedures needs cover for those, and the household should see the certificate. And locum cover is not optional: a household that has not planned relief for the physician’s leave will either go without care or improvise it.
Local arrangements, and why the start date is not the offer date
Medical Staff Talent introduces and verifies clinicians. The engagement is contracted directly between the family and the clinician, and all local arrangements (visa, licensed entity, coordination with local clinics) remain with the family’s own office and advisers. The start date therefore follows the arrangements the family’s office puts in place rather than the date of the offer, and any costs those arrangements carry belong in the family’s own budget. We do not advise on licensing, visas or sponsorship; background reading is available in our Gulf licensing reference guides.
How to choose the model: three questions for the family office
- Is the need continuous, or tied to a defined period? A chronic condition under active management, or a household that wants a physician on hand year-round: a Live-In or Rotational appointment. A defined period — recovery, a season, relief during the resident physician’s leave — is met by a Fixed-Term or Locum appointment.
- Does the family expect the same physician wherever it is? If yes, the Travelling model is the honest description of the role, and it should be priced and recruited as such from the outset.
- Will the doctor be alone, or leading others? A physician who will supervise nurses and a physiotherapist is a medical lead, and the search is for a leader with clinical depth, not a clinician who will tolerate management.
Households answering these for the first time will find our family-office checklist for vetting a private medical team a useful companion, and the confidential process from brief to appointment is set out in The Confidential Hiring Process for private families.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a full-time private doctor cost in Dubai or Riyadh?
A UK & European-trained physician engaged as a resident Private & Concierge Physician by a private family is typically packaged at £240,000–£400,000 tax-free, whether the remit is family medicine and longevity alone or extends to leading the household’s medical team. Locum and travelling appointments, which are short-term or part-year, start from £185,000. Accommodation, insurance, flights and, where applicable, travel provisions are usually provided in addition.
What is the difference between a private concierge physician and concierge medicine?
Concierge medicine is a clinic membership: the patient pays for enhanced access to a practice. A private concierge physician is a private appointment: one named doctor is engaged by the household, exclusively and living within it, and works for the family rather than for a clinic.
Can a private doctor be engaged part-time?
Not on a visiting basis: every appointment we place is live-in and single-status. Where the need is for a defined period, a Fixed-Term or Locum model provides live-in cover, and a Travelling model covers part-year travel with the family. These appointments form the first tier, indicatively from £185,000 per year, scoped according to the duration, the travel commitment and the breadth of the programme.
Who handles licensing and visas for the physician?
Medical Staff Talent introduces and verifies clinicians. The engagement is contracted directly between the family and the clinician, and all local arrangements (visa, licensed entity, coordination with local clinics) remain with the family’s own office and advisers. Medical Staff Talent does not advise on licensing, visas or sponsorship.
Is the physician’s salary the only cost the family office should budget?
No. Budget separately for accommodation and insurance, the executive search fee, professional indemnity matched to the scope of practice, locum cover during leave, and any equipment for a residence clinic or yacht medical suite.
Scope of Engagement
What Medical Staff Talent Does, and What It Does Not Do
Medical Staff Talent introduces and verifies clinicians. The engagement is contracted directly between the family and the clinician, and all local arrangements (visa, licensed entity, coordination with local clinics) remain with the family’s own office and advisers.
Regulatory frameworks in the Gulf change frequently. This page reflects the position as at October 2026 and is not legal advice; families should confirm local arrangements with their own office and advisers.
For the Principal’s Office
The Household Medical Commissioning Brief
Nine pages for the chief of staff or family office: the specification as the first control, the five deployment models, verification and references, and a twelve-point commissioning checklist. It names no household and can be forwarded as it stands.
Request the Commissioning Brief →Advisers, agencies and concierge firms introducing a principal: see how introductions work and our referral terms.