John Hume-Spry, principal dentist at Swadlincote’s Delph Dental practice has been a Practice Plan customer for more than 15 years. Here he explains what it is about Practice Plan that makes him happy to stay put.
We first contacted Practice Plan before the contract change in around 2005, as we wanted to explore our options for the future of the practice. We were sceptical that continuing to be reliant on the NHS was the right thing for us.
Way back then, the only big players in the membership plan market were Practice Plan and Denplan, so we spoke to them both. However, we really felt that Practice Plan had the more appropriate model for us at that time, so we signed up with them.
Although we didn’t want to step away from the NHS completely – we still have a children and exempt contract – we felt that we would get the right kind of support from Practice Plan to make the change to private practice for the bulk of our patients.
We had good reasons for making the move we made, which we felt would be beneficial for patients and not just for ourselves. But I think carrying the whole team with us is really key to a successful conversion.
I know that’s something that you see in the Practice Plan marketing literature, but it really is true, because it’s quite a daunting step to take. It was for us.
Support and guidance
But we felt that we would get the right kind of support, which we did. It’s something I certainly don’t regret. And the support’s been ongoing as well. Josie [Hutchings, Practice Plan regional support manager] has been brilliant over the years, and we now view her as a friend.
That’s not just a throwaway comment as she has been there for us, and we certainly do get the support and guidance that we need. She really knows what she’s doing. And that ongoing contact is so important.
There are other benefits to being a Practice Plan customer too. We’ve used consultancy sessions a few times and they are very helpful. We’ve had a range of people come and see us to talk about various aspects of running a dental practice. The good thing about the consultancies is that they’re at no direct cost to us.
And you may get a couple of real little gems out of it, so that’s helpful. And if you can pluck out a few gems and resources, then that’s very much time well spent.
Good value
There are lots of other benefits to being with Practice Plan aside from the service and support. The event days and the study days, such as the shorter courses, are all very useful.
It’s nice to have events that you can take team members to that cover the soft skills and not the clinical skills, because there aren’t many places where you can do dental specific courses like that.
There are plenty of management or customer service courses, but they’re not always geared towards dentistry or the medical environment. So, it is good to be able to access those things and often they’re either at no cost or they’re very good value. So, we really appreciate those.
There’s also the Practice Plan Club Weekend. That is absolutely brilliant! We’ve only been twice because of family commitments, but they were fantastic. As well as being great fun, you get to meet other practice owners and it’s such a good opportunity to network.
Happy clients
Whilst these things are a lovely bonus, they’re not the main reason why we stay with Practice Plan. For me, it’s more the day-to-day, week-to-week support that’s the key to making us happy clients of Practice Plan.
And it was still there during Covid as well. So, it’s things like that where you feel that people are trying to help you, and it’s good to feel that companies are there for you in difficult times as well.
Also, there’s a wealth of experience at Practice Plan, both as a company and the individual consultants. They’ve been around for a good while, have a good track record and really know what they’re doing.
I think there’s the right kind of support there to guide people through the process of leaving the NHS, which you need really. And, whenever we’ve asked for anything, it’s happened.
Working as a team
We’ve been with Practice Plan for more than 16 years now and I am not looking to change plan provider. This is not meant as a backhanded compliment to Practice Plan at all, but if you’ve found a system that works, why would you change it?
I think if you find a company that you work well with, it would take quite a lot to make you want to change that.
But also, we are really happy with the service that we get. Whether that’s support from Josie, or ringing up the office, everyone’s very helpful and tries to help you.
If they can’t get an answer for you straight away, then they come back to you with answers as soon as they can. It’s just really what you’d expect, and it’s the kind of service that we want to be providing for our own patients as well. You feel that you’re working as a team, and that goes a long way.
If you are interested in finding out more about how we help practices to become more profitable, call 01691 684165 or visit Practice Plan | Leading provider of practice branded dental membership plans.
