A Surrey businesswoman who set up her own chiropractic clinic 18 months ago has been awarded two accolades by The College of Chiropractors.
Tone Tellefsen Hughes, who has been working as a chiropractor since 1991, opened Luck’s Yard Clinic in June 2007, with just a website and a simple poster outside advertising treatment for bad backs. In that first week Tone treated 30 patients, and by December 2008 the Clinic had grown to 11 practitioners offering different services and saw 398 chiropractic patients in just one month.
Luck’s Yard Clinic has achieved two awards from The College of Chiropractors, the Patient Partnership Quality Mark and the Clinical Management Quality Mark – awarded for demonstrating excellence in meeting patient expectations.
From the early days of the Clinic, through its expansion, its founder and owner, Swedish born Tone, has received ongoing advice from Michael Gleave, an adviser with Business Link in Surrey, who has more than 30 years’ experience working in customer based businesses.
To gain the two chiropractic Quality Marks, the Clinic had to show that it carries out patient satisfaction surveys and research. Patient care includes the chance to attend free back care clinics on a drop-in basis, texts reminders of appointments and a website with regularly updated health tips. The plaques were presented to Tone at a ceremony in London.
Luck’s Yard Clinic in Milford, near Godalming, is housed in a former blacksmith’s forge and is named after the family which ran it for generations. The business employs four front desk staff and has ten self-employed practitioners, including two podiatrists, a nutritional therapist, a reflexologist and an acupuncturist. The team believes in community care and therefore pays regular visits to local schools to talk about posture and the importance of back care.
Tone, who has two children aged seven and eight, said: “I am extremely proud of everyone at Luck’s Yard who worked so hard to get these two awards. Our continued success is down to the front desk staff and therapists all showing a willingness to help patients and to share ideas with each other.
“I have also received tremendous support right from the start of the business from Business Link adviser Michael Gleave. He has been a mentor and we have looked at aspects of the business such as management, employment law and setting fees.
“I would recommend anyone setting up in business – even if they have a definite idea of what they want, as I did – to take a free diagnostic session with Business Link. The support I have had has been pivotal to Luck’s Yard’s continuing success.”
Michael Gleave said: “Tone had a very clear, strong vision of what she wanted from the business, but together we were able to fine-tune her broad strategy and look at areas such as marketing and management.
“We had an initial diagnostic session, then met twice after that. We concentrated on a structured plan for the business, making the best use of resources, bearing in mind that Luck’s Yard has grown quite quickly to offer a holistic, one-stop shop for clients.”
He added that he always advises businesses to concentrate on no more than four main objectives in any one year – “more than that and they’re not likely to achieve them all”, he said.
Tone says she intends to use Business Link’s services again as the Clinic continues to grow. She added: “I will be looking for courses where I can develop my leadership skills and I appreciate continuing advice on employment law and similar issues.”
