The Future Health Partnership is an innovative employee owned company, which is offering a new model for the management of dental practices. This enables dental professionals to put patients and employees at the heart of dental practices, by allowing the whole dental team to have a stake in the way the practice is managed and run, as it is their own business. The partnership model grants every member of staff within the practice a partner role, enabling employees to hold a meaningful stake in their own organisation; have a greater say in how the organisation is run, and share in the profits of a successful practice. Employee ownership is synonymous with businesses such as John Lewis Partnership, which are known for the quality of their customer service and the high level of trust placed in them by the public. The Future Health Partnership is the first employee-owned company to successfully emulate this model for the dental sector.
Philip Guest, who runs a very well established dental practice near Wrexham, has become the first dental practice owner to transfer the ownership of his business to its employees. Gwersyllt Dental Care near Wrexham is now part of Future Health Partnership. Speaking today at the official transfer of his business to its employees Dr Guest commented “Employee ownership is something which I have been aware of for many years in other sectors, but I just didn’t know where to start. When I heard about the Future Health Partnership, I realised that there was an immediate fit for myself, my employees and our patients. I have a real sense of doing the right thing and giving something back to everybody who is associated with Gwersyllt Dental Care”.
Employee ownership through the Future Health Partnership provides dental practice owners an alternative to selling their businesses outright to a new private owner or a corporation, both of which can have serious implications for the provision of future care. This Partnership alternative empowers all of the employees with the ability to deal constructively with each other and their patients, as they have a vested interest in making sure they are providing superb service. Major changes to existing working practices and shake ups of employee structure are avoided, thereby enabling a continuity of patient care.
The adoption of this alternative model, is likely to appeal most to dental practice owners who are disillusioned with the increasing burdens of practice management and administration, allowing them to transfer these to Future Health Partnership and instead refocus on improving patient care and enhancing the working environment for all staff, as well as benefitting financially from the transfer of ownership.
Founding partner Simon Gallier created the Future Health Partnership after becoming disenchanted with corporate dentistry and believing that it no longer serves the demands of patients and employees as well as it should. Simon was inspired by the findings of research conducted by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills’ report into the advantages of employee ownership, which concluded that it improves business performance, long term stability and customer focus.
The Future Health Partnership is already talking to numerous healthcare businesses and providers and believes that the evidence provided by the successful transfer of ownership at Gwersyllt Dental Care will show the way forward for other healthcare professionals who are looking to create a legacy for their employees and future continuity of care for their patients.