Abergavenny dental practice becomes the first employee-owned NHS dental clinic in the country
A dental practice in Abergavenny has become Wales’ first employee-owned NHS dental clinic.
Using a model similar to that of the John Lewis Partnership, the Gateway Dental Practice is owned by a trust, which represents all 17 members of staff, all of whom have an equal share of the business. The venture was supported by the European and Welsh governments as part of the Social Business Wales scheme.
The trust is there to make sure that the business is run in the best interests of the employees and the decision to change the ownership model was taken by previous owner, Michael Allen. Michael said that the employee-owned system seemed like a logical step forward when he started to consider who would take over from him at the helm. It represented a great solution for Michael, as he was able to enjoy the fact that the business had been left to people he knew and trusted.
Gateway Dental opened in 2007 and it serves around 10,000 patients in the areas covered by Powys University Health Board and Anuerin Bevan University Health Board.
Employee-owned businesses are becoming more commonplace, and figures from the Employee Ownership Association suggest a 10 percent increase in the number of firms in the last year.
Gateway dentist, Dr Hannah Hutchison, claims that the change of ownership has made the team even closer.
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