The blog of Alun Rees, The Dental Business Coach
“It was devastating.
I was hysterical when they told me my career was over.
And then, you know, something strangely positive that made me stop crying.
They told me that most of the time the condition is only discovered in a post mortem”
James Taylor on the most horrible, beautiful day of his life.
Read more here.
This book was published in 1969 and described as inheriting the character but not the anatomy from Samson’s (pictured left) 1931 book “Progressive Practice”. All I am going to say much about either book is that, although dated in some ways, much of their teaching is as relevant today as it was when they first saw light of day.
Below I have transposed the book’s forward by Professor Sir Robert Bradlaw (pictured below) CBE, FRCS, FDSRCS, FFDRCS. I think many of us could do with reflecting on his words. Sadly many of those who would benefit most will probably not bother.
“It has always surprised me that dental surgeons who have worked so assiduously to achieve diagnostic and operative skill are often so haphazard in their approach to practice management, for without good organisation and administration not only is efficiency impeded but professional ability poorly rewarded. It is true that a practitioner can learn from experience but this can be the most expensive way to learn, often far too expensive. The distinctive characteristic of a profession is that the welfare of those who entrust themselves to its care is paramount but that does not mean that the professional man or woman should be indifferent to his own – indeed, I suspect that those who neglect their own interests may not be well placed to look after other peoples.
We live in a world of changing values so that it is not surprising that there are those who, without having given much thought to it, think that the ethical code of our profession is obsolescent. This is ill considered; it was Samuel Butler who said that morality is the feeling of one’s peers. Ethical conduct depends not so much a formal code as on the right attitude of mind to both patient and fellow practitioner. Marcus Aurelius summed it up by saying, “What is not good for the hive is not be good for the bee”. So putting it at its lowest in terms of personal advantage, it is wise for all of us to adhere to the code prescribed by our fellows.”
Says it all.
via John Naughton and reestheskin
Here’s an extract from the most recent newsletter from Ray Prince and Graeme Urwin at Rutherford Wilkinson Ltd. I bumped into Ray at The Dentistry Show recently. A short while later I met someone who told me he had been talking to an accountant who guaranteed to cut his tax bill by a half. All I could think to say was, “If something seems to good to be true, it usually is.” I’m pretty sure that Ray & Graeme would agree.
Hot Topics Q&A: Be Careful With Tax Avoidance
Every week we receive questions from clients regarding all aspects of their financial planning. So, rather than keep the answers to ourselves (and clients) we publish one key topic each issue.
Q. As a high earning dentist, I pay large amounts of income tax. I get it that this goes with the territory, but I want to explore schemes which can help reduce my tax bill.
What advice would you give?
A. You are of course not alone in wanting to minimise the amount of tax you pay. This is something that we cover with all clients to one degree or another.
Sticking to income tax, and gaining a relief, there are few tried and tested routes that would make a significant impact.
Pension Investment – if you invest in a pension then this will reduce your top level of tax you pay. The problem however is that the vast majority of our clients are being hit by the reduction in the Lifetime Allowance, that limits the size of the pension pot you can build up.
You could take out a pension for a spouse or children however.
Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) & Venture Capital Trusts (VCT) – here you can gain 30%tax credits as long as you have paid the amount of income tax you are claiming. So a £100k investment would get a £30k tax credit.
These are riskier investments, with special rules, but can be valuable as part of an overall strategy.
Of course there are other ways you can help save tax. For example, maximise your Isa allowances which are now a lot higher at over £15k pa per person.
We would add a note of caution at this point!
We have had clients who have in the past been advised by advisers or accountants to invest in various weird and wonderful schemes.
This has in our experience resulted in a massive tax bill in the future when the scheme fails!
The carrot of wiping out a tax bill is very tempting, and these schemes can sound almost foolproof. Our advice would be to think many times before you even consider them!!
Figures show that HMRC had collected more than £2 billion in disputed tax from tax avoiders, in 2014 alone. If anything HMRC are tightening the noose.
This is merely a brief look at this subject, and as ever we urge you to get professional advice.”
Please send us your questions! It’s easy to do. Just email us at docden@rwpfg.co.uk (and if we publish it we’ll make it anonymous).
“The work place should not be a battleground.
It should not be a place where people come to struggle.
It should be a place where people are valued, encouraged, celebrated
and where they come to do their best.”
for the context see: Grounded in the ’70s
Why volunteer? And for the sake of argument let’s include fund raising.
Earlier today I spent a couple of hours in one of the nicest places in Ireland being a marshal in a 10K race & walk held on the roads around Union Hall. Why did I do it? Firstly, because Susan asked me if I would, she is a volunteer for the local RNLI branch and some of the runners were raising funds for “the lifeboats”. Secondly, because I hadn’t done this activity here before. Third, and most important, it meant that by giving up some of my time to stand on a road looking out at Glandore Harbour other people were able to take part in a community event to do something that brought them together.
I have done these things for as long as I can remember. The early ones were the sponsored walks, the YogJog, in 1966,67, 68 & 69. when thousands of supporters of South Wales Young Oxfam Groups walked the 26 miles from Cardiff to Porthcawl. These events took place in October, leaving Cardiff at Midnight and heading off against the prevailing wind along the A48 to reach Porthcawl, and the buses home, at about 8am on Sunday morning.
There followed activities for “SCAN” – Student Community Action Newcastle when I was a student – this meant running a couple of Discos without a fee as fund raisers. (I felt I was doing the vinyl equivalent of the concerts for Bangla Desh and later Live Aid).
After University I joined Round Table and then Rotary, each organisation having as one of its aims to raise funds and awareness for others less fortunate. I have run in many races including several London Marathons where the only thing that kept me going through training and injuries was the fact that I had committed to a cause. But it is the volunteers at London and other events which makes them happen. The people who control the crowds, hand out the water, medals and sandwiches and stop the hordes hitting traffic bollards that really make the events happen. They are the vital cogs in the machine.
In addition, voluntary activities with British Dental Association (which have persisted beyond my clinical career) and support of the dental charities Bridge2Aid, Dentaid and The British Dental (now Oral) Health Foundation have meant my involvement in professionally related causes.
When we first moved to West Cork, Susan took part in a historical research where volunteers mapped old graveyards by recording position and inscriptions, where possible, on headstones. The Irish Diaspora is massive and the work has already helped people from around the world research their ancestors. She got to meet a lot of people, made friends and learned about the area and its history.
Why do it? Obviously, if I and my ilk didn’t there is a chance that things wouldn’t happen, that money wouldn’t be raised, that the causes like the RNLI, Marie Curie, Oxfam and dozens of hospices would not be able to do the work they do.
Also I wouldn’t have had the fantastic experiences that I have had in the generation of funds, the direct action and the making of friends.
So why don’t more people put their hands up, get off their sofas, give of their time, expertise and energy?
International dental charity Dentaid is seeking volunteers to provide emergency dentistry at two refugee camps in northern Greece.
The charity has been approached by the Red Cross which says there is a desperate need for dentistry at its camps in Cherso and Nea Kavala which are each home to 4,000 people.
Although there is some basic healthcare in the camps there is no dental provision adding to the appalling suffering faced by thousands of people who have fled their homes.
Dentaid is putting together a team of volunteer dentists, dental nurses and therapists who will fly to Thessaloniki in northern Greece, which is a short distance from the camps at Kilkis. Working from a tent and using portable equipment, the team will provide pain relieving dental treatment for the adults and children caught up in the humanitarian crisis.
“Dentistry is an area where there is a real gap in provision and none of the agencies are providing it,” said Gwen Wilson from the Red Cross. “There is a desperate need and we are keen to get volunteers out there as soon as possible, although they will need to be able to work in the most basic conditions.”
The Red Cross has been working tirelessly to improve sanitation in the camps but access to personal hygiene items like soap and toothpaste has been very limited. Many of the refugees have been suffering dental pain for a long time and have developed complications affecting their health.
“The images we have seen of people in the refugee camps in Greece are deeply upsetting and worrying,” said Andrew Evans, strategic director of Dentaid. “We know there is a huge dental need and we are pleased that the Red Cross has approached Dentaid so that we can help.”
A small team of dentists is planning to travel to Greece in the coming weeks to establish the first dental clinics in the camps. Dentaid plans to send a larger team of volunteers in June. Volunteers will be asked to cover the cost of their trip and Dentaid will oversee their registration with the Greek authorities.
To find out more or to register interest please contact kerry@dentaid.org or call 01794 324249.
Waitrose – Crewkerne, Somerset 9.30am Thursday 21st April 2016.
It could be anywhere.
Me: I’ll have a bowl of porridge please.
Assistant: “Certainly sir”, opens cupboard, no porridge, “Sorry sir, we have run out of porridge”
Me: ”No problem, I’ll have some toast then”
Assistant: “Certainly sir”, opens cupboard, no bread, “Sorry sir we have run out of bread I’ll go and get some. Brown or white?
Me: Brown please.
Assistant returns and gets on with toasting my couple of slices, asks me if I would like honey, jam or marmalade. It’s breakfast so of course it’s marmalade. Then he makes my green tea (as it turns out it isn’t but I had given up the fight by then).
He cuts my toast diagonally into triangles and hands me them on a tiny plate. “Sorry about the size of the plate sir.”
The assistant apologised for three things that were entirely avoidable.
This pleasant young man was playing the cards that were dealt him to the best of his ability.
Lesson – build systems where your team are not having to keep saying sorry.
Bidders Asked To Swallow Oasis Dental Chain
From SkyNews.
Bridgepoint is preparing to hire bankers to oversee a sale of Oasis, Britain’s second-biggest dentistry provider.The dentistry chain chaired by Lord Rose, the man spearheading the campaign for the UK to remain in the European Union, is preparing to put itself up for sale.
Sky News understands that the owner of Oasis Healthcare, which owns more than 300 practices across the UK, is about to kick off talks with prospective advisers about a formal auction of the business.
A sale will value the business at several hundred million pounds, and is expected to generate a decent return to Bridgepoint, its owner since 2013.
The timing of a process has not yet been finalised, but it is likely to coincide with – or come shortly after – an auction of Southern Dental, a smaller rival to Oasis.
Southern, which was founded by Dr Mazdak Eyrumlu a decade ago has retained Catalyst Corporate Finance, an advisory firm, to sell itself less than two years after an earlier auction was abandoned.
MyDentist, a larger competitor owned by buyout firm Carlyle, has also been exploring a sale or flotation, although it is unclear whether it is likely to change hands this year.
Oasis has been chaired by Lord Rose since shortly after Bridgepoint acquired it for £185m, since when it has announced a number of further bolt-on acquisitions to bolster its size.
In May 2014, it bought Smiles Dental and Apex Dental Care in deals which added more than 110 practices.
Accounts filed at Companies House for the year ended March 31, 2015 showed a 63% rise in turnover to £234m, with pre-tax profit up more than half to £30m.
In his foreword to the accounts, Lord Rose described Oasis as “the only branded group offering a sizeable mix of both NHS and private treatment”.
In addition to Oasis and his role at Britain Stronger in Europe, Lord Rose chairs Ocado, the online grocer, and FatFace, the fashion retailer.
Bridgepoint declined to comment on Monday.
The Incisal Edge 