September, 2013, was a landmark month for Dipak Patel, owner and practice principal at Birchwood Dental. After four years of planning applications and repeated appeals his wrangling with the planning authorities finally came to fruition. At last, with planning approval in place, his plan to transform the practice could become a reality.
Established in 1952, Birchwood Dental Practice in Hatfield, Hertfordshire enjoys a loyal patient base. Located in a semi-detached house the practice was in need of redesign as many of its older patients were struggling with the steep stairs to the two upstairs surgeries. The opportunity to address this issue came with the purchase of the adjoining property in 2008. However, due to concerns over lack of car parking it wasn’t until 2013 that Dipak’s planning application finally received the go ahead.
The project was to transform the existing two-surgery first floor practice to a modern state of the art ground floor practice that was fully DDA compliant. With the redesign came the chance to solve a number of existing problems, a decontamination room that was too small, only one digital X-ray set shared by all dentists, a kitchen that doubled as an office, no dedicated staff room and a patient flow from the front door to the reception area that just didn’t work.
To assist in designing his new practice Dipak engaged SPS Dental. He explains, “I went to a few suppliers that came highly recommended by several of my colleagues. I found Ian Gocking from SPS Dental approachable, engaging and genuine in trying to understand and implement my vision. He was full of ideas that showed his immense experience in designing the surgeries and somehow managed to blend the aesthetic and practical aspects very well. Straight away he identified an issue with the flow of patients and suggested some simple changes that have made a huge difference. He also had a lot of patience whilst we went through several iterations of the layout design (even after the building works were started) and crucially he worked well alongside my project manager, Gerry Mears. Ian was also able to introduce me to other professionals within the industry – IT, software, digital imaging and cabinetry to name a few.”
When choosing his new surgery dental chairs Dipak turned to industry leaders. “Two of the surgeries have the Belmont Cleo II and the third room has the Voyager II package. The small footprint of the Cleo knee break chair is space efficient and patients, particularly those that are less mobile, find getting on and off the chair much easier. I also really like the fact that whilst I am talking to the patient from the front, the dental nurse is preparing the tray behind the patient out of sight.
The Voyager II was chosen as we have a left-handed associate. With this system the cuspidor unit can be changed from left to right handed use in seconds without the need for tools.”
In October 2014 after eight months, the completed refurbishment project delivered a totally transformed practice, which incorporated everything on Dipak’s wish list. “At the front of the building we now have a dedicated disabled parking bay with ramp up to the entrance. Our reception area is the first point of greeting for patients leading to an open plan extended waiting area that has a fully compliant disabled toilet, television and ample seating. At the rear there are three new ground floor surgeries, all of which have excellent natural lighting from the large skylights above. There is also a staff room with separate toilet, an office and a new large central decontamination room ventilated by a heat exchange system. Within each surgery there is a television on the ceiling above the patient’s head to view programmes of their choice as well as movies and a large monitor on the wall to show images of the patient’s mouth and X-rays.”
Dipak reflects on the project’s upheavals, “Totally redesigning the ground floor space to incorporate three new surgeries was the biggest challenge. This required an immense amount of planning and a huge amount of support and understanding from all concerned – builders, suppliers, patients and staff. During the building work the noise and constant dust meant keeping the surgery open was tough at times. The builders, Empire Design and Build, worked hard to minimise the disruption so that incredibly, during the whole refurbishment we only shut for just one extra hour from normal working times. I really have them to thank for the superior finish throughout.”
For those considering a similar type of project Dipak shares his lessons learnt. “Juggling the project with full time work was very difficult. Of course, in an ideal world it would be better to find a new site to refurbish and then move into rather than try to change your existing building. I would really recommend looking at several surgeries and speaking with as many colleagues as possible to get ideas. Make a list of things that you are unhappy with and would like to change and incorporate solutions to these in your new design. It is also essential to involve your whole team in decisions from the beginning; share your vision with them.”
To celebrate the culmination of everyone’s hard work an opening ceremony was held in November. Local MP and
Conservative Party chairman, Rt Hon Grant Shapps, opened the surgery and guests included the Mayor of Hatfield, Howard Morgan, councillors, local businessmen, friends, neighbours, patients and the local press.
Dipak is justifiably delighted with the end result. “The flow and ergonomics are excellent. The practice is airy, spacious and bright whilst the atmosphere is calm and soothing for the patients, many of which have commented that they feel like they are in a ‘posh hotel’. The practice is unrecognisable from before, it has been completely
transformed.”