Practice Plan shares the story of Oswyn House Dental Practice as it transitioned from NHS to private and created a new brand identity.
The loss of two associates to the private sector was the catalyst for Oswyn House Dental Practice owners Anthony and Helen Griffiths to start thinking – for them – the unthinkable.
Principal dentist Anthony had struggled for 12 months as he tried in vain to recruit new associates to help deliver his NHS contract. Having bought the practice in 1999, Helen and Anthony had always expected to continue providing NHS treatments to their patients. However, having spent a year trying to recruit associates without any success, something needed to be done.
‘He had seven days off in that year,’ Helen says. ‘Being the only dentist put him under a lot of pressure and it was a huge responsibility. He’s always been responsible because for 25 years he’s been the principal dentist and the buck stops with him. It’s one thing, the buck stopping with you, but it’s another thing not having any support.’
Difficult decision
In the end, it was associate Jabbar who joined them one day a week to deliver private treatment who, as Helen puts it ‘helped us see the light’. By sharing his 10 years’ experience of working in private practice, he convinced them that converting was the only way forward.
Despite the support and guidance they received from Jabbar, making the final decision to move to predominantly private dentistry was not easy.
‘It was difficult in that we’d always hoped we could stay,’ Helen explains. ‘We know that quite a sector of our patients now don’t have any provision for oral healthcare. That’s the hard bit, although we still see about a thousand children as NHS patients. But as a business decision, there wasn’t any decision left to take.’
With their Practice Plan regional support manager, Josie Hutchings, by their side the practice took the plunge and informed their adult patients that from October 2023 they would no longer be offering NHS services. Despite understandable concerns that their NHS patients would not be prepared to remain with them, plan membership is healthy. As it stands, they have more than 1,400 patients signed up to Oswyn House’s dental membership plan with more joining all the time.
Change of look
When they became a Practice Plan practice, as well as the unstinting support they received from Josie, Helen and Anthony were able to take the opportunity to work with Practice Plan’s design and practice marketing teams to refresh their branding. The practice is less than a mile away from Practice Plan’s head office in Oswestry. It was therefore easy for senior graphic designer Martin Cartwright and practice marketing executive Penny Hardy to call in and get a feel for the practice and what Helen wanted.
‘Martin and Penny came to us and went through what our style of dentistry is, what our patients are like, what our demographics are and so on,’ she says. ‘They had a sheet of questions that was helpful to coax out what we needed.
‘What we wanted was something that was quite simple; some kind of identity where things matched. We also wanted it to feel that there was more synergy about what colours we had and that all the literature would look the same. We’re also quite pink fans here as I think pink is a happy colour.’
Choosing the right shade of pink was important to the success of the rebranding, Helen recalls.
‘We were trying to come up with a word for the sort of pink we wanted, and Martin said, “posh pink”. We didn’t want something in your face like a bright pink.’
Armed with Helen’s brief, Martin set out to produce a design ‘that was modern and higher end, but not Liverpool City centre modern’. It was important to be mindful of the fact that the practice is in Oswestry, a small town, is well established and provides family dentistry. Something Martin achieved at the first attempt as Helen and Anthony were delighted with his design!
Progress
The practice is now, after surviving for 25 years without one, looking to develop a website. Prior to the conversion patients had always come to the practice via word of mouth or the NHS website. However, since the conversion Helen and Anthony are keen to show off the treatments they offer and encourage new patients.
‘We’re accepting new patients for the first time in years,’ she says. ‘Times evolve and so must we. Because we were NHS, a website would’ve been more hassle than it was worth as we’d have been turning away people every day. However, we are in the process of getting a website because we do want new patients to know what we do.
‘We have GBT (guided biofilm therapy) here which nobody else in town has. It’s a type of airflow hygiene treatment that’s more comfortable and efficient. I’m converted, and I think it’s a great system. We also have one or two other things such as extended opening hours we want to publicise. We’re here till seven, two nights a week. So, it’s about letting people know that.’
Despite needing to adjust to a new way of working after more than 25 years, Helen feels life in the practice has improved. ‘It’s more relaxed, less stressed, less fraught. Better. Definitely better.’
However, despite the struggles that eventually forced their move away from the NHS she has no regrets about when they chose to do it.
‘I think the timing was spot on, but we had to be pushed into a corner to do it,’ she admits. ‘I think we potentially could have gone on for longer. I’m glad we didn’t go earlier, but I think we might have kept going a bit longer and that wouldn’t have been good for us.’
Future plans
For now, their plan is to consolidate. ‘We’ve been here 25 years. Four of our staff have been here 20 years. So, we are lucky as we don’t lose many staff. So, it’s about nurturing some of the staff and letting them work in different areas that they wouldn’t have done previously. Also, being able to invest in an intraoral scanner, which doesn’t necessarily need to be done by the dentist.
‘It is about using teamwork, which we are developing a bit more. We’ve always worked as a team, but it’s about letting people develop those skills and have more job satisfaction. That’s been good for us.’
Helen and Anthony remain committed to helping as many of their former NHS patients as possible. ‘We’re a family practice right through from tots to people who are bringing in their elderly parents and we’re trying to make it as accessible as we can. Yes, it is more expensive, but if we can offer plans to help ease it, then that’s what we’re trying to do.’
This year, Practice Plan celebrates 30 years of welcoming practices into the family, helping them to grow profitable and sustainable businesses through the introduction of practice-branded membership plans.
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, you can start the conversation with Practice Plan today by calling 01691 684165 or to book your one-to-one NHS to private conversation at a date and time that suits you, just visit practiceplan.co.uk/nhsvirtual.
If you’d like to find out more about introducing a plan, and how we can help you, visit practiceplan.co.uk/nhs.
This article is sponsored by Practice Plan.
