Lizzie Goodman explores the importance of a proactive dental industry partner that can provide regular equipment servicing and considers why the ad hoc approach to engineering has had its day.
As a leading service and repair company in the UK, what changes have you identified within the engineering field and why?
Historically, we and other engineering companies supported individuals by offering ‘ad hoc/reactive’ engineering services for repairs and any maintenance.
Over the last six years, mainly due to HTM01-05 and CQC, practices have moved to working with engineering companies in a different way. In particular for ‘pre-planned maintenance’ services.
What is pre-planned maintenance and what are its benefits?
Pre-planned maintenance ensures a regular service of essential dental equipment. This ultimately facilitates its smooth running and helps to prevent expensive breakdowns.
We, as equipment and engineering service providers, encourage our customers to ensure their equipment is serviced regularly. The importance of maintenance is referenced in the CQC’s Regulation 15 regarding ‘Premises & Equipment’, which states that any equipment should be serviced in line with manufacturers’ recommendations.
This can result in significant downtime and disruption to a practice if not well thought out, as well as what is perceived to be a costly expenditure.
What people can fail to understand is that annual servicing is ultimately a preventative measure. In the early years of your equipment, this may seem an unnecessary expense. However further down the line it can provide a saving of thousands of pounds.
Failure of equipment in later life will result in inconvenient and expensive breakdown. The average loss of income of a surgery is £2,000 a day.
Now in the UK, a full-service contract for autoclaves is compulsory. As of yet, this does not apply to chairs and other equipment. However we suspect that won’t be long in coming. Anyway, most practices are adhering to these guidelines and ensuring that chairs and most other equipment is serviced annually.
Why should you carry out routine maintenance other than when you are compelled to do so?
It is true that there are many dental practices working in the ‘old way’ and are yet to embrace the benefits of this kind of service.
Think of it this way. You wouldn’t invest in an expensive car and not have it serviced per the manufacturer’s recommendations. You understand that this increases the longevity of your car’s engine. It avoids you driving down the motorway worrying that a breakdown is around the corner.
With rising costs for the practice and patient demand at a high, no-one can afford to grind to a halt because their equipment has let them down. Even with the best will in the world, technology can be unpredictable.
With that being said, all of us dread that reminder coming through the door. You know this will have significant implications for your bank account.
How can you alleviate this financial pressure?
With manufacturers’ chair service kits alone costing in region of £300-£400 each, we completely understand that many large practices will have a bill of thousands once all equipment is complete. And this is on top of taking into consideration any surgery downtime in order to carry out the service.
Therefore, service contracts are one way of alleviating this financial strain, by spreading the cost over the year. Any reputable engineering company will ensure the service is booked months ahead and undertaken at a convenient time to minimise disruption to the practice.
Our service solutions are of a bespoke nature and tailored to the age and condition of the equipment. Speak to your provider about piecing together the right package for you. This ensures that they have the correct manufacturer-certified engineers so that the service is carried out efficiently and effectively.
In the words of my colleague, our engineering manager Lee Hemsley: ‘We believe that a blend of general qualities such as friendliness, communication, reliability, flexibility and punctuality should be paired with technical support (from trained and skilled staff), short lead times and access to the right products at the right price.’
Hague Dental Supplies was founded as an engineering company in 1996. Now, over 25 years later, our multi-award-winning team of engineers and customer service advisors’ focus remains the same. We aim to offer a range of services that ensure downtimes are kept to a minimum.
They will be delighted to offer a free-of-charge equipment consultation and discuss building your bespoke ‘service contract’. If you would like to know more, please visit www.haguedental.com, email info@haguedental.com or call 0800 298 5003.
