Upgrading environments to support superior patient care

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  Posted by: Dental Design      11th March 2020

It is essential that dental professionals have the necessary skills, materials and facilities to deliver excellent clinical care to all their patients. In addition, a carefully and purposefully designed environment is important for smooth daily workflows and positive patient experiences. As such, there are many benefits to updating and refreshing a dental practice, ultimately leading to improved patient care.

This is something that Colosseum Dental feels very passionately about. Consequently, the group has spent the last year refurbishing its entire portfolio of practices, with nearly all 70 locations now completed.

To achieve the best results, it was important that practice team members got involved with the process to tailor changes according to their specific needs and those of their patients. This meant maintaining clear lines of communication and collaboration between head office and practices, and working together to create environments that would be conducive to professional and patient satisfaction.

Practice Manager of Woodgreen Dental Clinic, Momena Khatun, discusses why her practice was in need of refurbishment.

“We were really keen to give the practice a fresh new look – it had become old and worn, and needed a little TLC to restore it to its former glory,” she says. “We were aiming to create a neat and tidy space that looked really professional and would make patients feel comfortable.”

As Momena goes on to explain, good organisation turned out to be crucial for a smooth process.

“My team and I worked with the builders to arrange which tasks would be performed on which days,” she says. “The goal was to minimise disruption to our patients and to our clinicians, so we planned as many details as we could ahead of time. We needed to close one of the surgeries, so the dentists were informed well in advance and alternative arrangements were made. We had to be very organised!

“The greatest challenge of the project was encouraging the builders to keep to the time schedule. It was frustrating when certain elements of the refurbishment weren’t completed in the allocated time slots, but our careful planning helped keep us on track as much as possible. It also meant we could ensure that nothing was missed.”

With works now complete, Momena, her team and their patients are enjoying the new practice.

“We are delighted with the outcome of the refurbishment,” she adds. “The entire practice has been upgraded and the environment now reflects the excellent standard of patient care we strive to deliver. All the team are pleased to work in such a practice – they are even more motivated to come in and do a good job – and have expressed very positive feedback. Patients have also been impressed with the changes and seem to love the new style of the practice. They feel more at ease in the building and happier to walk through the door. We have welcomed a lot of new patients following recommendations based on the new premises and we’re thrilled to have received such fantastic patient reviews.

“There were huge benefits in the team being so involved in the process, rather than just following instructions from head office. Our opinions and requests were listened to and we were able to manage the transition in a way that suited our team and our patients. It also became a team building exercise – we packed up the surgery together and we had a laugh. I’m very proud of everyone for their contributions and for just getting on with their jobs as best they could.”

For any other teams considering or going through a refurbishment, Momena offers some advice based on her recent experience:

“I would definitely write yourself a detailed plan and then be prepared to follow up the schedule regularly to remind all relevant parties of their responsibilities and to confirm dates. This just helps to make sure that each stage of the project is completed on time.”

Updating and refreshing the practice environment is important to ensure that dental teams can deliver the very best patient care. Customising works according to the team and patient-base is important for the most effective outcome, which Colosseum Dental has done with all its refurbishment projects. This is just one way in which the group is setting itself apart in the sector.

 

For more information about Colosseum Dental, please visit www.colosseumdental.co.uk


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