A REDDITCH dentist who built his practice up from 500 patients to 22,000 – making it the biggest in the Worcestershire Primary Care area – is to leave the town.
And Vernon Elliott says he has been overwhelmed by the messages of goodwill from his patients since making the announcement.
However he won’t be leaving dentistry but returning to his ‘roots’ by working in his own small practice in Tanworth in Arden.
“I like to think of myself as a professional,” he said.
“I would go out at 3am in the morning to see patients and the payback was seeing them get better.
“Now we’ve got 10 dentists, 20 to 25 staff and it became more managerial and I just felt I couldn’t take it any further.”
Vernon sold the ‘goodwill’ of practice – Archer Road Dental Surgery – in 2011 to a large corporate dental firm but decided to stay on.
“I live in Tanworth, I’ll have seven or eight staff, doing my own on call, nice dentistry without the tick boxing,” said the 52 year old.
It’s all a far cry from the time the Studley-born dentist arrived in Redditch in 1989.
“Back then the dentist who ran it had 500 patients, didn’t advertise and he told me they were running at a loss.
“I worked as an associate and we had two part-time receptionists and a nurse.”
Vernon bought the practice in 1991 and in 1999 bought ‘Pat’s Cafe’ next door and extended the premises, growing the business along the way.
And he says the improvements in dentistry over those years have been phenomenal.
“The technology now is amazing, patient management is so much better, there’s much greater choice and developments in cosmetic dentistry have been huge,” he said.
And what of teeth today?
“Fluoridation has helped but I see the biggest problem now as some of the fizzy drinks and sports drinks. Also the acidity in some fruit can cause problems.”
However Redditch will always have a place in the heart of the married father of two who’s wife is a dentist and who’s daughter has just qualified as one.
“The only reason I stayed on so long here was because of the people of Redditch.
“I’ve had dozens of cards, hugs and tears – after 30 years you get attached to a place and I would like to thank the people of Redditch for all they’ve done for me.
“I’m not leaving, just moving on to the next phase of my career.”
