With so many private hospitals in London showcasing their excellence, how do marketing teams, their copywriters and designers make their healthcare services stand out?

The UK, and London in particular, is the go-to destination for medical tourists who can either afford to pay for the best healthcare themselves or whose treatments are financed by their governments.

Getting these potential customers interested in your services and communicating their value can be difficult when the brochures from London’s top private hospitals all say they offer high standards of clinical care, world-class doctors, and pioneering treatments.

The very same points are made in marketing content from Guy’s and St Thomas’ Private Healthcare. As part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust, Guy’s and St Thomas’ Private Patient Services provides private patients with access to first-class healthcare services and facilities and expert consultants who are leaders and pioneers in their field.

So, the marketing team weaves these benefits in with other key differentiators such as the reputation and achievements of Private Patient Services, in particular its specialist areas, its impressive range of world firsts and its ability to treat patients all through their lives. As a teaching hospital, its consultants are also at the forefront of research and innovation.

Judging by the increasing number of private patients attracted to the service, it’s a successful marketing strategy.

Distinctive messaging clarifies the benefits

The first newsletter for Guy’s and St Thomas’ Private Healthcare

To keep a broad audience of embassies, health officials, and UK and international private patients updated with this growing service, the marketing team’s latest publication emphasise the unique services offered by Guy’s and St Thomas’ Private Healthcare.

The first newsletter, In-form Feb 2020, focuses on Guy’s and St Thomas’ world-renowned Evelina London Children’s Hospital and its specialist paediatric cardiology and fetal cardiology services.

The hospital is the first children’s hospital in the UK to be rated as ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Evelina London also has one of the UK’s largest intensive care units and one of the largest neonatal units in England. Among the world firsts performed by the cardiology service are catheter intervention, cardiac imaging and fetal cardiology.

And there aren’t many hospitals in the UK that can offer complex clinical care from before birth to every stage of life. The neonatal service is another big advantage because of its close links to maternity services at St Thomas’ Hospital and Evelina London’s position on-site for paediatrics.

It’s worth adding that another benefit (not mentioned in this issue but in other marketing material) is that income from private patient activity is reinvested back into the NHS to support clinical services for the benefits of all the trust’s patients.

Creative collaboration enhances communication

Private Patients’ Marketing Manager Sharmeela Sleath spearheaded the creative process on the first issue, bringing in Harmer Editorial to write the content.

Sharmeela says: “Alison has worked closely with us since 2017 and knows the benefits of our private healthcare services so well that she didn’t need much of a steer to get the angles of each story right. You feel supported when you’ve worked with a copywriter for so long over multiple projects and the process runs smoother when you can trust their editorial instincts.”

Another important collaborator on the newsletter was Pad Creative, which has supported the communications and marketing teams at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Private Healthcare since 2017.

Alison Steward, Director of Creative Services at Pad, said: “We refined the design to fit the readership and reflect the angles of the stories the marketing team wanted us to focus on. We’re pleased with the resulting newsletter, which gives private patients an insight into the range of services Guy’s and St Thomas’ Private Healthcare provides.”