Practice made perfect

help dentists

expand their

businesses,

Geraldine Abrahams reports.

THE changing image of the Health Service in Britain has been a bitter pill to swallow for many people working in various areas of health in this country but it has been less traumatic perhaps for dentists who for many years were told that ''medicine is a profession and dentistry a business''.

Nevertheless, in the public eye, those providing health care were seen as professionals yet, rightly or wrongly, the perceived success of the professions today is dependent on how well they operate as service-based businesses.

If doctors, opticians and university or college lecturers have gone down the customer/ client service route then dentists already had a head start and there is plenty of evidence to suggest that dentists who run their practices with the help of a comprehensive business plan are better placed to improve their services and to develop a more motivated staff.

There are various changes in the provision of dental care which now affect the way dentists work. Recent changes in the way Government has funded the dental aspects of the Health Service has undoubtedly put greater pressure on dentists to offer a better service as well as developing the additional preventative care programmes and specialist practices.

Keeping pace with changing technology and offering a quality service are all major concerns or challenges, fired by patients' increased awareness of what constitutes a quality service and, arguably, by the Patients' Charter and the Nuffield Report.

The prevention-based approach being taken by those in all sectors of the Health Service is encouraged because of the cost effectiveness of stopping the rot before it sets in rather than becoming involved in major operations to remove, heal or cure problems in the later stages of their development.

In dentistry, as with other areas of the Health Service, education plays an important role. Preventative measures are further encouraged through the effective use of staff within dental practices since, as with all businesses, performance is dependent on the people on the team using their own skills to the maximum while working together effectively to provide the best possible service.

In Glasgow, dental practitioners have been approached by the Glasgow Development Agency (GDA), with the support of the Glasgow Dental Hospital and School NHS Trust, to consider becoming involved in formal staff development programmes which could help them provide an enhanced level of primary care.

Margo Cornish, training and development manager at the Glasgow Dental Hospital and School NHS Trust explained the purpose of the initiative.

''People's expectations of service quality and standards are much higher and there is no reason for the dentist's surgery to be any different,'' she said.

''While patients normally take the quality of their clinical care for granted, their expectations have changed.

''They expect to receive the same standard of service as they would from any other sector and our profession today is fast becoming a service sector business.''

According to Cornish, those changes warrant the introduction of more effective staff development programmes where the practitioner will be able to delegate some of the work to members of his/her clinical support staff and dental technicians, thus increasing their involvement in patient care.

''We could see the introduction of extended roles for dental support staff due to the impending legislative changes,'' she said. ''Integrated team-based care will become the norm and this will enable support staff to take on some of the duties previously conducted by qualified dentists.'' The logic behind such initiatives is that, with minor procedures being carried out by support staff, dental surgeons will be free to deal with more skilled and complex procedures and as a result, offer patients an improved level of care.

From a staff development point of view, such practice should help dental practice employees to better understand where they fit in and contribute to the ongoing wellbeing of the patients or customers.

The end product is a more effective and efficient service and, according to Tony Quinn of the GDA, than can be achieved through Investors In People .

''We believe that the business development needs of dental practices can be most effectively met via the Investors in People framework and we are working closely with the Glasgow Dental Hospital to develop a tailored programme designed to meet the needs of Glasgow Dental practices,'' he said.

A recent seminar run by GDA for dental practitioners outlined the achievable business benefits resulting from Investors in People and half of the 16 practices at the seminar have subsequently committed to developing their businesses through the Investors in People framework.

One of those dentists attending the session, Nicholas McLuskey, a partner at the Geneen & McLuskey Dental Practice was impressed with the potential of IIP.

''We can see that when our staff have the opportunity to undertake professional development they enjoy greater job satisfaction, are more content in their profession, and staff turnover is reduced,'' he said.

''This in turn benefits us, the dentists, and enhances patient/staff relationships.''

Glasgow Development Agency plans to hold similar business development seminars for other professions including legal and financial, and general medical practices, later this year.