‘Dentists, take heart!’ – Anju Jairath, Les Jones and Zoe Close address some common concerns when converting from NHS to private, including the prospect of losing patients.
Most people find change unsettling and one of the biggest changes a dentist can make in their professional life is to move from NHS to private dentistry. So, it’s unsurprising that it’s something that causes anxiety to those considering it.
In this short clip from a Practice Plan webinar, dentist Anju Jairath expresses the fears she had at the prospect of leaving the NHS. Despite knowing that leaving the NHS was the best way to secure the future of the practice, she was apprehensive about the prospect of losing patients. She worried that they may be angry with her and move to another practice.
Fearing she would not have enough patients remain with her and sign up to the plan is one common to many dentists contemplating the process of leaving the NHS. Understandably so.
Losing patients is necessary
However, as creative director Les Jones’ question reveals, Anju was surprised at how many patients she could afford to lose, and indeed, had to lose, to enable her to accommodate longer appointments in her diary. To be able to devote more time to each of her patients she had to see fewer of them.
Having worked in the NHS treadmill environment, it may appear counterintuitive to a dentist to reduce the number of appointments per day to be able to make a better living. However, according to head of sales Zoe Close, the responsiveness of patients to practices moving to private dentistry means they are seeing hundreds of patients signing up to their plans within a very short space of time. Gone are the days when plan membership increased by a trickle.
Fear can be an inhibitor for positive change and growth. As Anju and Zoe point out, more patients than ever are signing up for plan membership. So dentists, take heart!
To watch the webinar in full, click here.
If you’re considering your options away from the NHS and are looking for a plan provider who will hold your hand through the process at a pace that’s right for you, why not start the conversation with Practice Plan on 01691 684165 or book your one-to-one NHS to private call today practiceplan.co.uk/nhsvirtual.
For more information visit practiceplan.co.uk/nhs.
