Philip Guest, who runs a well established dental practice near Wrexham, has become the first dental practice owner to transfer the ownership of his business to its employees. Gwersyllt Dental Care near Wrexham is now part of Future Health Partnership.

The Future Health Partnership enables dental professionals to put patients and employees at the heart of dental practices by allowing the whole dental team to have a stake in the way the practice is managed and run, as it is their own business.

Dr Guest explained: ‘Employee ownership is something which I have been aware of for many years in other sectors, but I just didn't know where to start. When I heard about the Future Health Partnership, I realised that there was an immediate fit for myself, my employees and our patients. I have a real sense of doing the right thing and giving something back to everybody who is associated with Gwersyllt Dental Care’.

Synonymous with businesses such as John Lewis Partnership, the Future Health Partnership is the first employee-owned company to successfully emulate the model for the dental sector.

The adoption of the Future Health model is likely to appeal most to dental practice owners who are disillusioned with the increasing burdens of practice management and administration, allowing them to refocus on improving patient care and enhancing the working environment for all staff, as well as benefitting financially from the transfer of ownership.