Pre-opening enquiry capture and launch timeline

People notice a new practice long before it opens: the fit-out, the sign going up, a mention in a local group. Each of them is a potential first patient, and without a way to record their interest, they go elsewhere and you never know they existed. A simple waiting list solves that, provided it is set up properly from the start.

Why capture interest early

A waiting list gives you three things a new practice otherwise lacks: people to contact on opening day, an early read on which treatments people ask about, and a record of where they heard about you. It costs little beyond a form, a privacy notice and someone responsible for keeping it.

Setting up a waiting list

Ask for as little as you need. For most practices that is:

• name;
• the contact method the person prefers (email or mobile);
• what they are interested in, from a short list of the treatments you will offer;
• how they heard about the practice.

UK GDPR requires personal data to be collected for specified purposes, limited to what is necessary, and kept no longer than needed ^[5]. So say on the form exactly what the list is for (telling people when the practice opens and how to book) and do not ask for health details you do not need at this stage.

Then ask for consent to marketing separately and clearly. Under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, marketing by email generally needs the recipient's prior consent ^[4], and the definition of electronic mail includes text messages ^[3]. An unticked box with plain wording, such as "Email me when the practice opens and with occasional news", keeps the record clear. Store the date and the wording each person agreed to.

Using the list later

Use the list for what you told people it was for. An opening announcement and an invitation to book fit that purpose. UK GDPR does not allow personal data to be further processed in a way that is incompatible with the purposes it was collected for ^[5], so passing the list to another business, or using it for something unrelated, needs much more thought than an opening announcement. Make it easy to stop receiving messages, in every message.

Once the practice is open, people on the list who become patients move into your patient records. Decide in advance how long you will keep entries for people who never book, and delete them when that time is up ^[5]. If you are unsure how these rules apply to your plans, take advice; this page is not legal advice.

Week-by-week timeline

The table counts back from the month you plan to open. It is a sequence, not a fixed schedule: if a step slips, the steps after it move with it. Two dates are outside your marketing control. In England, the CQC says to apply for registration only when everything is in place to start providing services ^[1], so keep publicity to "opening soon" or a month until the date is certain. And a Google Business Profile with a future opening date shows on Google 90 days before that date, once the business is verified ^[2].

The full order of work, including the website information the GDC requires, is in the marketing launch checklist. To assign each step an owner and a date, print the launch planner.