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As well as being home to a state-of-the-art optician's practice, the KCEC is home to a physiotherapist, clinical psychologist and dietician. The aim, explains practice owner and optometrist Jonathan Cohen, is to create a health centre, and the business arguments he outlines for doing so seem very wise indeed.
'It just makes sense to have another health professional working here,' Cohen says. 'On a financial level it helps pay the rent, but thinking more long-term, the future is definitely in multi-disciplinary centres. We get more people through the door - even if they just come in to see the physiotherapist.'
Cohen rents out consulting rooms full-time to Physio Medicine, which provides physiotherapy, sports injury, sports massage and acupuncture services. A clinical psychologist and a dietician use the premises on a casual basis.
An ambition realised
The KCEC opened its doors in July 2006, and for Cohen, this was the realisation of a long-standing ambition, plus five years of hard work.
'I have always wanted to open my own practice, as I felt there was only so far I could go as an employee.' he says. 'It took me five years, from when I decided it was the right time to open a practice to when the doors actually opened.'
Finding the right location was one of the biggest tasks. 'I investigated the number of opticians in different areas - optician density if you like - and analysed all the postcodes,' he says. 'I then walked the streets and looked at new developments.'
Archway, Paddington, Spitalfields, Victoria and West Hampstead were all considered before he settled on a new development at King's Cross. The location had major potential, as not only was it just metres from a major commuter centre, but the surrounding area was due to be redeveloped.
'There are plenty of offices and residential buildings planned for this area,' Cohen explains. 'The whole area is changing and will be redeveloped over the next 10 years. A lot of big chains are moving to this area, for example, McDonald's and Pret a Manger have already opened stores.
'We are just getting busier and busier. Our busiest times are during rush hour and lunch time, people just walk into the store off the street. It really helps that we are right near the train station.'
A great deal of consideration was also put into designing the practice interior.
'This area is quite mainstream with a lot of young people. So I couldn't make the store too much of a boutique - it still had to have commercial appeal. The idea was to create a white space, and change the look by changing the accessories. For example, we can hang a chandelier or change the colour of the cushions or change the artwork,' Cohen explains.
He has invested heavily in technology. Along with standard equipment for pressure and field testing, the practice has a fundus camera, a tomographer and digital testing charts. These charts can display either letters or shapes, and with the click of a button the images will be randomly mixed, meaning patients cannot memorise a line. There are also display screens throughout the practice which are used for promotion purposes. However, Cohen sees an opportunity for these to be used for educational purposes, and is hoping to host evenings for local health professsionals where lectures on eye health can be screened.
Marketing campaign
At the moment, Cohen is concentrating on building up his patients, and as such has begun an ongoing marketing campaign targeting local businesses and university students. His short-term goal is to have a full diary every day however, in the future, he hopes to turn his practice into a specialist centre. He currently offers specialist services in low vision, dyslexia and orthokeratology and children's services.
The whole process of opening his own practice he describes as 'quite scary', but Cohen is confident of long-term success: 'It can be pretty nerve-wracking setting up a new business. And it is just me, we don't have the backing of an organisation like Specsavers.
'My wife and I could lose everything if this doesn't work, but having said that I am very confident that it will. I wouldn't have done it if I had any doubts,' he adds.