Why self-pay patients read your page and don't book.

A self-pay patient walks the same path every time. Each step is a place they can quietly drop out, and each one has a fix. The rest of this page takes them in turn.

Plenty of people are willing to pay privately, and they choose carefully. The practices that make choosing easy are the ones that get chosen.

If you want to work out what a few more self-pay patients would mean for you, our guide to getting more private patients starts there.

PHIN's 2024 research on patient priorities found that cost and payment options were the factor most often named when choosing a consultant, by nearly half of respondents, and that 71% were going private at least partly because of NHS waits or treatment being unavailable. PHIN's 2026 patient confidence report found self-funders want more help to decide than insured patients do: 29% said they'd find it easy to decide without trusted information, against 44% of insured patients.

That is good news for you. Self-funders are looking for exactly the information you already have.

Who you are, in plain facts

Your training, GMC number, the procedures you perform, the hospitals where you hold practising privileges, and the days you consult at each. “Fellowship in hand surgery, Oxford” tells a patient more than “leading hand surgeon”, and it's a claim you can stand behind.

What it costs

Your fees are probably public already. The CMA's 2014 Private Healthcare Order requires consultants to give PHIN their consultation and standard procedure fees and keep them up to date. By October 2025 the CMA reported that 96% of consultants publish self-pay consultation fees on PHIN, and in July 2026 it confirmed full compliance.

The Order also says that once an outpatient appointment is confirmed, the patient gets an estimated cost (a range is fine if you explain what changes it), any financial interests, the insurers that recognise you, and PHIN's web address. We haven't found a rule requiring fees on your own website, so a guide fee there simply brings forward what the patient will receive anyway. The GMC's conflicts-of-interest guidance (paras 26–28) asks you to be open about fees before treatment. A good guide fee says what's included (hospital stay, follow-ups, whether the anaesthetist's fee is in) and what isn't (diagnostics, further tests), and matches PHIN.

“Can I be seen privately, and how soon?”

Your secretary probably answers this more than anything else. The page should answer it too: self-pay, insured or both; which insurers recognise you; whether a GP referral is needed; and the current typical wait for a new appointment, dated, as a guide rather than a promise.

How to book

Try your own booking route on your phone, in the evening when the office is closed. There should be one obvious way in, a number you can tap, the hours it's answered, and a line saying what happens next.

If a patient enquires after your office has closed, what happens next? An automatic acknowledgement should explain when to expect a reply, and someone should be responsible for following up the next working morning.

The GMC holds you personally responsible for information published in your name. Good Medical Practice 2024 (paras 88–91) asks for it to be honest and accurate, without leaving out or playing down risk. Your website also falls under the ASA's CAP Code, so factual claims need evidence and prescription-only medicines can't be advertised to the public.

If you practise in England and consult remotely, including by video, the CQC's exception for doctors with practising privileges doesn't cover those consultations, and it excludes certain procedures too. The CQC covers England only. Check your arrangement with your defence body or the regulator's guidance.

None of this works against bookings. A patient who can see the fee, the risks and the recovery before getting in touch arrives ready for a proper conversation.