How to set up an Occupational Therapy Private Practice – Step 3
This is a follow on blog from our ‘Step 1‘ blog which we recommend reading first. It also links to the ‘Step 2‘ blog which (you guessed it, is best to read before step 3).
This is specific to the United Kingdom, however most principles can be applied to other countries with similar registrations/processes for Occupational Therapists.
TOPIC:
You are thinking of taking on a few private clients, maybe you work part time or want to eventually have a full-time private practice income. You want to know what to expect, what you need to actually do, and how much it is all going to cost…. where do you start.
Well; we have done it all (both in the UK and Australia!) so let us give you our tips and advice to help inform your decision about whether you want to proceed and become an independent provider!
WHAT:
Setting up a private practice can really take as much or as little work as you would like it to. There are of course key things that need to be in place, but a lot of the other stuff is really up to you. You can read Step 1 here, and Step 2 here, which outlines everything in more detail.
This information is for those who are already HCPC registered professionals with the relevant experience and expertise who are considering becoming independent providers. The information below is not suitable for non-qualified professionals.
HOW:
Please read through the whole blog posts (here and here) before you rush off and start registering for things; there is a lot to consider, which we have tried to outline for you!
We have already explained the must haves in our previous posts 1 and 2, so now we are up to………
You are thinking of taking on a few private clients, maybe you work part time or want to eventually have a full-time private practice income. You want to know what to expect, what you need to actually do, and how much it is all going to cost…. where do you start.
HOW:
Please read through the whole blog posts (here and here) before you rush off and start registering for things; there is a lot to consider, which we have tried to outline for you!
We have talked through the ‘must haves‘ and the ‘should haves‘, and now we are up to the……….
The ‘nice to haves’:
These are things that are good to have if you can afford them, or you can get them as you go along.
- Business cards, especially if you are networking with GPs and schools or other referral sources. We also have an A2 information sheet on what we do.
- Landyards or t-shirts if you are wearing a uniform (we just have lanyards) so that you look official and people know that you belong to that company.
- A clinic space or room, we tend to treat children in their homes (or at a play centre/school) however we are working on getting a space that we can treat at!
- Website and social media – we keep our favourite resources on ours, as well as blog posts to help health professionals and parents.
- Accounting and admin support, if you can afford this, great!
KEY TIPS:
Don’t go into this lightly. It is incredibly rewarding but is a lot of work as well.
Think about all the elements and costings before starting, there will be hidden costs along the way so be ready for those.
If you don’t want to set up by yourself, talk to other providers in your area to see if they want to take a contractor on (we are starting to look into this more seriously now), as it might be a worth while conversation.
Think about what you are willing to do for free, there will be times that you want to just help, however there has to be (for your own wellbeing) a limit to that. Working for yourself you will need to decide this ideally before you will need to think about it. An example of this is that we will do a free phone call with families before starting working with them to discuss their concerns, however this is capped at a maximum of 1 hour.
FURTHER READING AND RESOURCES:
Take a look at the OT Hub, which as loads of great information. There are also lots of podcasts available around setting up your own practice too.
We also love the ‘Dare to Lead‘ book by Brent Brown; not related specifically to setting up but is a great book about leadership and refer back to.
We will happily provide supervision to those taking these steps, having been through them ourselves. You can find our pricing here.
