This year there will be a number of changes to employment law that practices should be aware of. Here, Director & HR Solicitor at Buxton Coates Solicitors, Sarah Buxton, outlines what’s coming up. As of April 2024, several changes to employment law come into effect to address evolving workplace dynamics and to ensure fair treatment of employees. These updates affect a range of areas including wages, benefits, working conditions and employee rights. First up are the changes to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) which came into effect from 1st April. From this date the hourly rate for apprenti ..read more

Dentist and owner of Abbey House Dental, Amit Jilka, explains how he makes things work in a mixed practice. I began my career as a predominantly NHS dentist. Then I trained in implants and sedation as we wanted to offer our patients a more high-end private service. Which meant, within two or three years of buying the practice, we started more and more private work and that’s what ultimately led us to having our own membership plan alongside our NHS contract. We informed my NHS patients by letter that we’d be going private and that another dentist would be taking over. Quite a number of these ..read more

Regional Support Manager, Chris Nicholson, outlines how introducing a Treatment Co-ordinator (TCO) can help increase treatment uptake and benefit the practice. Treatment Co-ordinators have been around for a while now and more practices are seeing the value of introducing them. Not only do they help increase the uptake of treatment plans, which is great for the practice’s finances, but they also offer a career path for staff members who want variety or progression in their careers. How TCOs benefit the dentist To state the obvious, dentists are skilled at, and often prefer, hands on dentistry ..read more

Practice Plan’s Creative Director, Les Jones, encourages practices to tap into the latent potential of less experienced members of their team. A few weeks ago I watched the Carabao Cup Final between Chelsea and Liverpool. Liverpool, for once, were the underdogs because their team had been ravaged by injuries. Many of their biggest stars were side-lined and watching from the stands. Liverpool were forced to turn to their young academy players to make up their substitutes bench. Chelsea, on the other hand, had spent almost £500m on new players during the summer and their team was full of big na ..read more

As a mutual, Wesleyan is owned by its members and has no shareholders. As it says on its website: “We thrive by staying true to the needs of the people who matter most – our members, our customers and colleagues, as well as the communities in which we live and work.” Which is one of the reasons Wesleyan as a group takes its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) responsibilities so seriously. Here, Wesleyan Group Sustainability Manager, Dan Gamson, reflects upon the progress and contribution Wesleyan Group company, Practice Plan, has made so far towards achieving Wesleyan’s ESG goals. Wor ..read more

Regional Support Manager, Sarah Barnard, offers some suggestions for dealing with a subject raised often by practices – what is the best way to pay associates for plan membership income? I have worked for Practice Plan for more than 20 years, and in that time, one of the most frequently asked questions has been about how to pay associates for the membership plan income they generate. If you are wrestling with this question, then it’s important to keep in mind your ultimate goal. What are you hoping to achieve? Being fair to everyone Most practices I speak to about this want to make sure that ..read more

In this guest blog, Dental Business Consultant, Lucie Simic, suggests ways to increase your patients’ loyalty to your practice. As we approach 2024, I believe a crucial strategy for success next year will be cultivating patient loyalty. While acquiring new patients is undoubtedly important, focusing on retaining and strengthening the bond with existing patients is a game-changer. This is not just about providing quality dental care; it’s about building relationships and creating an experience that keeps patients coming back with a smile. The Power of Patient Loyalty Patient loyalty is not jus ..read more

As the nights get longer and the days shorter, Area Manager, Gary Nelson, suggests a way of bringing some warmth into people’s lives. The world we live in is a difficult place at present. Stating the obvious there, sorry! I don’t think I need to elaborate on that statement, as the never-ending cycle of negative news tells us this often enough. We cannot control much about the greater world around us, but we can control our reactions. We’re about to enter a tricky phase for many people – the winter months. By ‘people’ I mean, you, me, your teams, your patients, your community. Everyone will ha ..read more

Dental business consultant, Lucie Simic offers some suggestions on managing a busy diary. For a while now, dental practices have been grappling with the challenge of managing an influx of both new and existing patients. Yet, within this whirlwind of activity, it is crucial to acknowledge that experiencing gaps in your dental appointment schedule is not an unfamiliar scenario. As we start to face this kind of challenge, going back to basics can be a wise strategy to weather the storm. In this blog, I discuss three key principles to help you navigate this situation effectively. We’ve Been Here ..read more

In a few weeks’ time, one of Practice Plan’s longest standing customers will be ditching his scrubs in favour of a life away from clinical dentistry. The sale earlier this year of Principal Dentist, Jason Greenwood’s The Stafford Dental Practice heralds the end a 36-year dental career and a relationship with Practice Plan of more than 25 years’ standing. He attributes the longevity of his association with Practice Plan to two things: “No reason whatsoever to leave. And loyalty. I’m very loyal.” However, he admits to that being an oversimplification! “There are lots of reason why I have remain ..read more