Meet Ben Trinh of Life Ready Physio + Pilates in Camberwell

A physio and pilates clinic in Camberwell is implementing a pioneering approach to give their patients a unique experience.

Life Ready Physio + Pilates opened its first Melbourne clinic in Camberwell, in the heart of Burke Rd, in November 2017 following unprecedented growth in Western Australia.

With a vision and strategy for a clinic with a difference, CEO Ben Trinh has created an environment dedicated to inspiring patients that use the space while allowing them to quickly and carefully rehabilitate.

“We really want our clinic to reflect our commitment to community, so we’ve created an environment where patients can connect with each other and build really authentic relationships with their physios,” Trinh said.

The decision to expand to Melbourne and set up shop in Camberwell came about when Trinh noticed a growing community of health-conscious types.

“We also love that we attract patients of all ages to our Camberwell clinic. There’s a really diverse mix of people here which is great,” Trinh said.

A clinic with a difference

As a qualified physio, Trinh entered the profession with a mission to help people. But he quickly felt disillusioned with an industry that required physiotherapists, with a scientific background, to run a business.

“I realised that the commercial side of it was very different… You can’t treat patients all day and manage staff and run a business all at once. That problem is rife throughout the whole industry,” he said.

That’s why Trinh decided to start a new kind of clinic, where the physios could focus on their patients and staff and leave the behind the scenes business operations to business experts.

The Life Ready Physio + Pilates group gives practitioners the chance to buy into a clinic so they can run it, while business aspects like graphic design, HR, legal, accounting, bookkeeping and insurance are all taken care of by Trinh’s business-savvy team.

“It means the owners can get on with running the clinic completely, which means the patients get better treatment. We’re trying to change the face of how clinics operate,” he said.

The goal for Life Ready Physio + Pilates is to be a one-stop shop where patients can journey from injury to full recovery under one roof. Patients can work collaboratively with their clinic specialists and they don’t have to visit multiple businesses to treat different aspects of their health or injury.

The clinic is also big on gathering feedback from patients, so they can make improvements and roll out changes quickly. They regularly measure NPS (Net Promoter Score), to see how likely their patients would recommend the clinic to a friend or colleague, and obtain high scores.

One improvement they are looking to introduce at their Camberwell clinic is an in-house creche, so parents can leave their children in care while they attend a class or undertake a rehabilitation session. This is something that has been purely based on feedback from clients.

Designed to inspire

In addition to its holistic, proactive and considered treatment approaches, Life Ready Physio + Pilates engaged some of the most brilliant minds in Australia to help reimagine the stereotypical clinic design experience.

“Studies have shown that the environment in which patients receive rehabilitation care impacts the rate and speed of recovery. This is why it was so vital for us to create a thoughtful, communal space that lends itself to an open flow,” Trinh said.

Designed by architecture firm Russell & George, the clinic’s aesthetic seeks to challenge long-held expectations of traditional, stark and cold medical environments by incorporating crisp Scandinavian tones, external wood features, high ceilings and warm lighting.

“Fundamentally it’s about movement, which has been reflected in the floorplan. The curved walls create the illusion of openness and makes the space feel open and collaborative,” Trinh said.

“A typical clinic is very cold and impersonal, and we wanted to offer the opposite of that. We want our clients to enjoy the space but equally feel inspired by it.”

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