The benefits of marketing in the NHS

A The Chartered Institute of Marketing product story

Edited by the Marketingweek Marketplace editorial team Apr 24, 2008

The CIM has worked with marketers from across the NHS to produce a White Paper, The real NHS: the benefits of a marketing approach.

The Institute's paper makes clear that for the NHS to become patient-led it must first become marketing-led, and looks at what marketing can deliver for the NHS, its customers and its many stakeholders.

David Thorp, director of research and information at The Chartered Institute of Marketing, said: "The move towards a more patient-led NHS will not happen overnight - there are considerable barriers to change in the NHS.

"However, if marketers are willing to engage with their colleagues, use intelligible marketing terms, and demonstrate clearly the benefits a focus on patient needs can bring, they will find a more receptive audience that will help make a patient-led NHS a reality sooner rather than later".

One of the biggest obstacles for marketers in the NHS is a lack of clarity about its role.

The Institute's paper argues that marketing is widely misunderstood in the NHS, with many staff failing to understand what it actually is and what it can deliver for the NHS.

Often perceived as just 'spin' or advertising, The Institute argues that marketing actually has a far more strategic role to play in the NHS and can help deliver real benefits for both patients and staff.

The Institute worked closely with its own Medical Marketing Group in the development of the paper, and hosted a round-table discussion with senior marketing managers from across a broad spectrum of NHS trusts and organisations, including the NHS Confederation and NHS Elect, to hear their views on marketing's role in the new patient-led NHS.

Presentations of the White Paper will be made at public events taking place on 22 May 2008 in London (The Chartered Institute of Public Relations, 32 St James's Square) and on 3 June 2008 in Leeds (St James' University Hospital).

The Chartered Institute of Marketing already runs training courses for marketers and managers in the NHS, and the White Paper underlines The Institute's commitment to marketing in the NHS, and its belief that marketing can make a positive difference to the organisation.