Creating a clean slate
UncategorisedPosted by: Dental Design 6th April 2020
There comes a time in every business’ life when it needs a refresh and refurbishment. For some dental practices, this might involve a simple facelift with a coat of paint to freshen the interior and optimise appeal for patients. In other situations, the practice might require a lot more work. For example, structural changes may be indicated in order to better utilise the space available. Equipment may need updating or replacing, or new digital imaging solutions could be introduced as a way of enhancing the quality of patient care delivered.
A fresh start
At Colosseum Dental, we were aware of the lack of investment in the previous business and so this was one of our top three priorities last year. Feedback from our dentists, clinical teams and patients supported the need to improve many of the premises within the group. Members of the Leadership team also personally visited practices to see for themselves the scale of changes needed if we were to meet best practice guidelines and give our clinical staff the environments they needed to provide first-class dental care.
We aimed to completely reinvent the business and start again from scratch in building Colosseum Dental. This was not just about updating the décor and patching up old units in our practices. We understood that if our clinical teams were to provide the highest quality patient care, they needed facilities to match. We were also very keen to invest in the future of the business – after all, we are in it for the long-haul.
Collaboration
It was important to us that this project was led by those who worked in the practices day-in, day-out. We aim to empower our teams to run the clinics as their own businesses, so their involvement was a ‘must have’. As such, we sought the opinions and ideas of our practice managers, dentists and dental nurses. We needed to know what our clinicians and managers wanted, as well as why they wanted these things and what the resulting impact on the practice and patients would be. Our goal was to improve life for both dentists and patients, so input from all our professionals was invaluable.
We worked with them to design their new practice spaces and then plan the work accordingly. In the case of six practices, we came to the joint conclusion that relocation would be more efficient. For example, feedback about our practice in Nottinghamshire included issues with the building itself and its location. The practice team offered their local knowledge to help source new premises and they found an excellent new building to move in to. They are not only moving into a better environment to provide excellent dentistry, but they will also have an extra surgery so they are ready for growth in the future. The relocation is set to benefit both staff and patients in the local community far better than the previous building ever could, even with extensive modification.
We are proud of the level of engagement we achieved with our practice teams. It was their collaboration and feedback that has ultimately led to such a successful group-wide project.
Investing in the future
In the end, over £10 million was invested in our 70 practices across the UK. The vast majority of this went into the surgeries, ensuring that our clinicians have the facilities they need. Many rooms required reconfiguring as well as new technologies, and we happily proceeded with any work that would improve the standard of care patients received, or that would enable the practice to better service its current or future patient base. So far, we have installed five CBCT machines and replaced dental chairs in 90% of practices. As more of our dentists utilise digital dentistry and as we grow, we aim to continue adding to the selection of equipment available.
We know how important it is to listen and really hear what our people are saying. Their requests are often coming from a desire to improve patient care or enhance their own job satisfaction – both of which are important to us at Colosseum Dental. Throughout our ‘refurbishment’ project – though it was much more than that in the end! – we have offered as many opportunities as possible for our practice teams to engage and get involved. While always a consideration, we haven’t focused on the financial cost. Instead, we’ve approached this whole project as an investment in our future and have concentrated on the benefits earned as a result of the changes. This is one of the advantages of being backed by Jacobs Holdings – they are in it for the long-term and that means we can look much further ahead than the next year or two when planning for the group.
For more information about Colosseum Dental, please visit www.colosseumdental.co.uk
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