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
Available as a bespoke course for organisations wishing to develop or expand their NHS Private Patient Unit
The workshop can be tailored to reflect your organisation's commercial priorities, patient access challenges and strategic objectives. Please contact Sarah Kemm on 01732 897788 or email sarah.kemm@sbk-healthcare.co.uk to discuss delivering this workshop exclusively for your organisation.
|
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
Gain practical insight from an NHS leader successfully growing self-pay services
Gemma Jackson will share the practical strategies, challenges and lessons learned from developing marketing, pricing and patient access initiatives that have supported the growth of self-pay services at one of the UK's leading specialist NHS organisations.
Job Title:
Head of Marketing
Organisation
Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Biography
Gemma Jackson is Head of Marketing at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Over the past five years she has helped develop and promote Moorfields Private, supporting initiatives including the implementation of a new CRM system, the launch of a new website, the development of new marketing campaigns and the opening of Moorfields Private's New Cavendish Street location.
Working closely with colleagues across the organisation, Gemma has been involved in developing marketing approaches that improve patient engagement, strengthen digital visibility and support the growth of NHS private patient services. Her experience spans digital marketing, search optimisation, CRM implementation, patient communications and using marketing data to support service development and commercial decision-making.

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
Since 2013, SBK Healthcare has brought together NHS Private Patient Units from across the UK through its highly regarded National Networking Forums. This workshop builds on over a decade of supporting NHS private patient services by providing a more practical, interactive learning experience focused on the day-to-day challenges of growing self-pay activity. Discover what delegates have said about our previous private patient events:
"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
View further comments on SBK Healthcare events on Trust Pilot.
Pricing Structure
This workshop is open to NHS professionals only
- Early bird: £299+VAT for one NHS or Public Sector place when booked before Friday 11th December
- £399+VAT for one NHS or Public Sector place when booked after Friday 11th December
- £299+VAT each for two NHS or Public Sector places
You or a colleague can claim the group NHS discount, for booking two or more places across this and any other subsequent event, providing the same pricing structure applies. Click here to view the full list of up coming events.
For group bookings of five or more people, please email our delegate support team or call 01732 897788 for further details
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.
You can reserve a no-obligation place whilst you apply for funding