Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

January 23-28, 201220 United Kingdom EditionBusiness Management Approximately 6,000 people in the UK annually are diagnosed with oral cancer - with an estimated 2,000 deaths every year (Source: British Dental Health Foundation, www.mouthcancer.org) Oral Cancer – prevention, examination, referral has been designed to support all health professionals by updating their knowledge, highlighting the importance of oral cancer screening, and providing practical tools for communicating with patients and colleagues The programme comprises four topics: 1: The facts - Providing a background into the incidence, causes and development of oral cancer 2: Team Approach - Looking at all aspects of communication both within the team and with patients 3: Screening Examination - Practical advice on improving the opportunistic screening procedure in practice 4: Case Studies - Providing first hand experiences of examining, making referrals and living with oral cancer For more information call us on 020 7400 8989 or log on to www.smile-on.com page 19DTß Londonbutthere’snocallforthem round here. You caught her say- ing to one patient that “she’ll soon knockyouintoshape”.Shedoesn’t approve of your new fee struc- ture because “people won’t pay”. The nurse has been on the sick for three months and now thinks she “might be” pregnant. She has told the practice man- ager that the “risqué” joke you heard Chris Evans tell one morn- ing, and repeated to her, was sex- ist; she was quite offended and didn’t know quite how to take it, especially as you had been alone with her when you said it. The cost of the agency nurse is playing hell with your financial forecasts. The commute that appeared reasonable seems to take 40 min- utes longer than you had antici- pated. Your partner can’t under- stand why you have to spend the evening “doing the books”. The visit to the gym on the way home has been replaced by one to the take-away and the off-licence. You hear a rumour that the old owner who said he was heading for the golf course and the beach is working part-time as an associ- ate 100 yards beyond the distance agreed in the barring out clause. It seems strange to me that when we buy our first flat or house we will ask our parents, family, friends, the man in the pub, anyone for an opinion, be- cause they have all bought and sold houses. Yet how many dentists jump into practice purchase with hardly a second thought and then end up in the situation described above? Or worse? These are strange times in dental practice sales; some ar- eas of the market have been described as being in “feeding frenzy” mode. The sheer enormi- ty of the bureaucratic iceberg, of which CQC/HTM 01-05 is merely the portion above the waterline, has persuaded many owners that now is the time to go. Without doubt there are some great practices for sale at pre- sent and there are some potential nightmares out there too. Alun’s Top 10 Tips if you’re looking to buy a practice: 1Get the money in place first 2Take your time 3Visit and revisit, take a look at the area during the “normal” working day 4Research, research, research 5Be prepared for the process to take twice as long as you had hoped 6Look at the “books” - not just the finalised accounts 7Examine the clinical records 8Are those patient numbers real or optimistic? 9Are you ready to totally im- merse yourself in the new ven- ture for at least 12 months? 10Get your support team in place. DT About the author Alun Rees trained at Newcastle Uni- versity and started his career as an oral surgery resi- dent, before work- ing as an associate in a range of differ- ent practices. With this solid founda- tion, Alun went on to launch two prac- tices in the space of just 15 months, a challenge in the toughest economic conditions. After years of hard work Alun finally sold his award-winning business in 2005. Alun’s background and experience give him a strong un- derstanding of what others go through to build a successful practice. He has seen many different approaches and learned his own lessons in the real world. Alun now runs Dental Business Partners to offer specific and special- ised support for dentists, by dentists. He has served as a media representa- tive for both the BDA and BDHF and is an authority consulted by the me- dia and has featured on BBC2, Sky TV and various radio stations. Raised in South Wales, Alun has family roots in West Cork where he spends as much time as work allows. In other spare moments he has run three London marathons and lists rugby, real ale and music as relaxation. www.dentalbusinesspartners.co.uk alun@dentalbusinesspartners.co.uk For more information email Alun ata- lunrees@mac.com, or alternatively call 07778 148583 or 01242 511927