With growing concerns about the future of NHS dentistry, more and more practices are transitioning from NHS to Private Dentistry. However, making the transition is a big decision and something that needs a lot of thought and planning, as well as a full understanding of all the implications both financially and strategically.
We’ve asked Matt Norton, Senior Client Manager, to outline the effect and associations of transitioning from an NHS to Private dentistry practice.
Over to Matt
One of the primary motivations for dentists to move from NHS to private is the desire for greater autonomy and control over the practice and its decisions. Private practices offer practitioners the freedom to tailor services, treatment plans, and appointment schedules according to individual patient needs. This flexibility can enhance the dentist-patient relationship, allowing for a more personalised and comprehensive approach to oral healthcare.
But as with any change, there is an element of risk, which I’ve highlighted below.
Understanding the Financial Impact
Most patients will be used to paying a set amount for their treatment under the NHS, which means they may need an alternative payment option to spread the cost of their routine dental care.
Introducing a patient membership plan could be a good way to support your patients through this change, making sure their payments are both consistent and manageable.
Finding a reputable provider of dental membership plans can help to simplify this process, enabling you to assess your situation with transparent pricing and hand holding through the transition.
It is important to consider patient demographics, as private practice fees may not be accessible to everyone and often one of the barriers to handing an NHS contract back is the thought that the practice will lose too many patients.
However, with such high demand for dentistry in the UK, practices converting from NHS to private practice are losing significantly less patients than they did 10 years ago and in general, private practices need fewer patients to achieve the same level of turnover as a NHS practice.
It is crucial to understand the appetite for private dentistry in your area and “run the numbers” to understand how many patients you would need to convert to a dental membership plan to maintain the same level of turnover.
Communication
Communication is key during this transition. Informing existing NHS patients about the shift to a private practice, outlining the benefits of the change. Ideally this should be done at their next routine appointment as it will give you the opportunity to outline the benefits of the change, and addressing any concerns patients may have can help maintain patient trust and loyalty.
You will also need to ensure that you have enough time to complete any NHS-funded courses of treatment before the changeover date.
It is just as important to keep the team well informed on any plans to convert from NHS to private practice as they may have concerns themselves. Being transparent and honest as to the reasons will often see the whole team get on board with the decision and help drive things forward.
Loss of NHS benefits
Your NHS pension contributions are likely to decrease or stop completely, depending on whether you choose to reduce your NHS commitments or convert to private practice on a full-time basis.
Its important to make sure you have an alternative retirement plan in place, and don’t forget about the other benefits such as death in service benefits, NHS sick pay and parental pay among others.
Leaving the NHS means that your entitlement to these benefits will cease so you need to factor in the loss of these benefits into any decisions.
New patients
The shift to a private dental practice requires a full marketing strategy. Unlike NHS practices that often benefit from established patient referral systems, private practitioners must actively market their services to attract and retain patients. Building a strong online presence, participating in community events, and utilising social media are effective ways to enhance visibility and attract a new patient base.
Final thoughts
The journey from an NHS dental practice to a private one is a financial and strategic decision that involves careful planning and consideration. Dentists must weigh the advantages of increased autonomy, financial potential, and enhanced patient care against the challenges of converting existing patients to patient membership plans, loss of NHS benefits and administrative and marketing responsibilities.
This is only a brief summary on some of the key considerations, but if you have any further questions or want to explore this option further, we are here to help. To speak to one of our Specialist Dental Accountants please call 0151 348 8400.
