Online Course | Self-Pay Activity in NHS Private Patient Units

Private Patients

Wed 20 Jan 2027 09:00-15:20

Online Course, 5 CPD Hours

Practical strategies to increase self-pay enquiries, improve conversion and build sustainable growth

This practical online workshop will guide you through increasing your organisation's visibility and attracting more self-pay enquiries to developing effective pricing strategies, improving enquiry conversion and creating a patient experience that encourages recommendations and repeat business.

Designed for Private Patient Unit Managers, Business Development Managers, Marketing and Communications professionals and Operational Leads, this highly interactive workshop will provide practical guidance that can be applied immediately. Through interactive case studies, discussion and action planning, you will leave with the knowledge, confidence and practical tools to develop a sustainable strategy for growing self-pay activity.

SBK Summer Sale! Book your place during the month of August and get 1/3 off the full place (applies to new, full price, NHS and Public Sector bookings only)

Book Place Reserve Place

Growing Self-Pay Activity in NHS Private Patient Units

Online 5 CPD hours Summer sale! 1/3 off

Develop your service knowledge

How to grow self-pay activity through marketing, pricing, patient access and experience

Whether you are looking to establish a stronger commercial strategy or expand an existing Private Patient Unit, this practical workshop will provide the knowledge, tools and confidence to strengthen every stage of your self-pay patient journey. Key learning outcomes:

Understanding the unique challenges and opportunities associated with attracting and supporting self-pay patients
Learning practical marketing approaches that improve visibility, increase enquiries and strengthen patient acquisition
Understanding how SEO, AI search, digital marketing and reputation influence patient choice
Exploring how pricing strategies, competitor benchmarking and package pricing influence patient confidence and value perception
Identifying barriers within enquiry handling, booking pathways and patient access that reduce conversion rates
Understanding the importance of patient experience, reviews and feedback in driving sustainable growth
Using CRM, contact centre, analytics and competitor data to support decision-making and demonstrate value
Developing practical strategies to embed commercial thinking within NHS organisations where dedicated marketing expertise may not exist

Live online learning

Interactive discussions and practical case study learning

This highly interactive online workshop combines practical presentations, facilitated discussions and case study examples to help you apply the learning directly to your own organisation.

Throughout the day you will have the opportunity to:

Join NHS colleagues from across the UK who are developing or expanding Private Patient Units
Take part in interactive discussions exploring marketing, pricing, patient conversion and service development
Ask questions and gain practical insight from Gemma Jackson, Head of Marketing at Moorfields
Explore practical approaches to improving digital visibility, enquiry management and patient experience
Reflect on your own organisational challenges and develop realistic actions to support future commercial growth

In-house training

9:00	Joining, technical support and instructions
9:30	Workshop leaders’ introduction: Significance of effective marketing to self-pay patients Understanding the self-pay patient journey: from awareness through to booking and payment Gemma Jackson, Head of Marketing, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Marketing and visibility
9:40	Effective marketing processes for driving self-pay demand Marketing through the funnel: converting website visitors and enquiries into bookings Understanding search visibility: ensuring patients can find your services when they need them Shedding light on the ‘black box’ of SEO and AI searching Case study insights: recent marketing activities, challenges and outcomes explained
10:10	Questions and answers with Gemma Jackson
10:20	Interactive discussion: Marketing on a limited budget What opportunities have you found for smart spending rather than large spending? How do you currently measure the success of your marketing activity? What role do reviews, referrals and reputation play in generating self-pay enquiries? What do you prioritise, and what drives the greatest self-pay growth?
10:40	Screen break
Pricing strategies
10:50	Bringing marketing to the table for pricing decisions Understanding costs, margins and the financial foundations of pricing decisions Benchmarking competitors and assessing the self-pay market landscape Using package pricing to improve transparency and patient confidence Case study insights into how pricing influences brand perception, value and positioning
11:20	Questions and answers with Gemma Jackson
11:30	Interactive discussion: Pricing for growth and value perception How do you currently set self-pay prices within your organisation? What role should marketing play in pricing decisions? How do you balance affordability, competitiveness and profitability Does premium pricing require a premium patient experience?
Data and organisational buy-in
11:50	Using data to influence decisions and drive growth Demonstrating value and gaining credibility through data and insight Using data to support pricing, investment and growth decisions Understanding available data sources, including CRM systems, contact centre data, analytics and competitor benchmarking Building trust through reputation, reviews and patient feedback
12:20	Questions and answers with Gemma Jackson
12:30	Lunch break
Access and conversion
1:00	Turning enquiries into appointments: booking pathways and enquiry handling processes Why marketing alone is not enough: the importance of operational readiness The role of the new patient enquiry team in driving conversion How to reduce abandoned calls, delays and barriers to booking Case study insights: team restructuring, Salesforce implementation and process redesign
1:30	Questions and answers with Gemma Jackson
1:40	Interactive discussion: Identifying barriers to conversion Where are patients dropping out of your enquiry and booking process? What challenges do you face in responding quickly to enquiries? How do you currently measure enquiry conversion performance? What operational changes could have the biggest impact on growth?
2:00	Screen break
2:10	Case study discussion: Understanding the expectations and behaviours of self-pay patients What matters most to self-pay patients? How could you support patients throughout the end-to-end self-pay journey? How are you currently collecting and using patient feedback?
2:40	Questions and answers with Gemma Jackson
Action planning
2:50	Interactive discussion: How will you embed a growth mindset within your NHS PPU What changes could you make to introduce marketing thinking into your organisation? What data will you use to gain buy-in and influence decision-making? What opportunities exist to drive self-pay growth, even without a dedicated marketing team? What are the quick wins and longer-term initiatives you could implement to improve self-pay activity, patient experience and conversion rates?
3:20	Close of workshop

Your workshop leader

Gemma Jackson

Job Title:

Head of Marketing

Organisation

Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Biography

Gemma has been head of marketing at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust since 2020. She leads the marketing, business development, new patient, and referrals functions at Moorfields Private. During that time, she has delivered the implementation of customer relationship management systems, a new call handling process, multi-channel marketing campaigns for both B2B and B2C audiences, and a new website. Key milestones at Moorfields Private include the opening of a new central London location in 2022 and the launch of the rapid access and urgent care service in 2021.

Prior to working at Moorfields, Gemma was the marketing manager for global health at BMJ where she led the marketing programme for a pandemic preparedness and extremely dangerous pathogen programme in seven countries. For six years, she was the marketing manager for Private Care at The Royal Marsden. Gemma also has experience in marketing in the charity and housing association sectors.

Who should attend?

Connect with colleagues responsible for developing and growing NHS Private Patient Units

This workshop is designed for NHS professionals responsible for developing, implementing or expanding Private Patient Units and self-pay services. It will be particularly valuable for organisations looking to increase self-pay income, improve patient acquisition, strengthen enquiry conversion and develop a more commercially focused private patient service.

Designed for:

Private Patient Unit Managers
Private Patient Service Managers
Business Development Managers
Marketing and Communications Managers
Operational Managers
Patient Access Managers
Service Development Leads
General Managers

Past attendee feedback

"Really helpful, lots of excellent content. Speakers were all excellent and knowledgeable."
NHS Private Patients National Networking Forum 2026

"Great reference points across the agenda; very engaging; good timings."
NHS Private Patients National Networking Forum 2026

"Excellent opportunity to learn, engage and share best practices and challenge solutions."
NHS Private Patients National Networking Forum 2025

"I am so impressed. An unbelievable amount of information was packed in."
NHS Private Patients National Networking Forum 2025

"Very well set up, fantastic learning and networking day."
NHS Private Patient Business Development Conference, September 2024

"Very insightful into the current market and PPY future."
NHS Private Patient Business Development Conference, September 2024

"Great experience in terms of discussions and meeting colleagues from the same niche background."
NHS Private Patient Service Summit 2023

"Great to get together and lots of helpful discussions."
NHS Private Patient Service Summit 2023

"Very informative, lots to take back to our PP business and share with the rest of the team."
NHS Private Patient Service Roadmap 2022

"Great networking opportunity, interesting to note that everyone is in the same boat, struggling with the same difficulties."
NHS Private Patient Service Roadmap 2022

Pricing Structure

This workshop is open to NHS professionals only

It's the SBK summer sale! Book before the end of August to get 1/3 off the full, NHS and Public Sector price.

Summer sale: £266+VAT for one NHS or Public Sector place when booked before 31st August 2026 (applies to new, full price bookings only)
£399+VAT for one NHS or Public Sector place when booked after the 31st August 2026

This course is available for in-house training

Available as a bespoke course to teams of 25 people or more. Please do contact us if you would like this training delivered exclusively to your team, with the content developed to drill into the specific needs of your service. Please email Sarah Kemm or call 01732 897788 for further details.

Reservations

You can reserve a no-obligation place whilst you apply for funding

How this online forum will work

Once you have booked your place, SBK Healthcare will correspond with you using the email address you provided at the time of booking. Within one week of the online training taking place, you will be sent final details of the course including a full agenda, programme timings and your Zoom joining instructions. This email will include a joining link that can be used to access the course.

If you have not received your email two days before your event, do check your junk folder then contact SBK Healthcare on 01732 897788.

Practice sessions are available. If you would like to attend a zoom practice session before the event takes place, please let us know by emailing bookings@sbk-healthcare.co.uk. You will have the opportunity to meet an SBK Healthcare staff member who will ensure you are able to access zoom, that your camera and microphone work and you are fully set-up for the day. This is optional but if you do wish to attend, please use the same device that you plan to use on the day.

On the day, when registration starts, you will be able to join the course by initially entering a waiting room when there may be a short wait. The forum will include screen breaks, as well as topic themed interactive sessions which will take place in the breakout rooms.

Click here to view the specially created 5-minute video that will walk you through how to get the most out of attending your SBK Healthcare interactive online forum.

Terms and conditions

Certification of attendance

A certificate for Continuing Professional Development will be given to every fully registered participant who completes the course, as a record of your continuing professional training and development.

Registration fees

You will be sent an instant payment option or invoice on registration. Your payment is required in advance. If your fee has not been received prior to the event, and you are not able to provide a PO or proof of payment, you will be asked to make a credit or debit card payment on the day.

Modify registration

To let us know if your details are not correct when you have already registered, please email the bookings team.

Cancellations and substitutions

A full refund of fees will be made only for cancellations received within the first 48 hours of the booking being made. Notice of cancellation must be received in writing by emailing the bookings team at SBK Healthcare. Should you need to cancel your registration after this date, the registration fee remains payable in its entirety although a substitution will be accepted and conference documentation will be provided. Substitution attendees for delegates unable to attend after registering are acceptable at any time.

Event changes

It may be necessary for reasons beyond the control of the conference organisers to alter the content, speakers or the timing of the programme. We will endeavour to keep you abreast of such changes but any unavoidable change to the format will not constitute a reason to refund the fee. Should the event be postponed, we will endeavour to reschedule the event. If, for reasons beyond the control of the conference organiser, the event is cancelled, a full refund will be made. We do not accept any liability for any incurred costs resulting from a postponement or cancellation.

Privacy notice

To view the details on how your data is being collected and used, please view our Privacy policy

Growing Self-Pay Activity in NHS Private Patient Units