Wednesday · 1:12pm · lunch
AI phone cover · UK dental practices
The front desk that doesn’t close for lunch.
Catchline answers your practice phone when your team can’t: at lunch, after hours and when the line’s busy. It handles the everyday questions, gets urgent callers to the right help, and texts every enquiry to reception, ready to book.
No software changeLive in 5 working daysNo contract30-day money-back
9/10
independent practices we checked have no live online booking, so the phone is the only way in.
64%
close their phones for lunch, the hour working patients are most likely to call.
80%
are closed on Saturdays or open by appointment only.
Source: Membula check of 25 independent UK dental practices across England, Scotland and Wales, September 2026 (websites, NHS.uk and CQC listings).
What your callers hear
Three calls your team never had to take.
Pick the practice that sounds like yours. Every call ends the same way: a callback card on reception’s phone, ready to book.
Your practice is
Tuesday · 7:40pm · closed
Toothache after hours
CALLERHi, I’ve got really bad toothache. Is anyone there?
CATCHLINEI’m sorry you’re in pain. Quick check: any swelling in your face, trouble swallowing or breathing, or bleeding that won’t stop?
CALLERNo, none of that. It just really hurts.
CATCHLINEI can’t give clinical advice, but NHS 111 can help tonight. I’m marking this urgent so the team calls you first thing.
CATCHLINEIf you get swelling, a temperature, or trouble breathing, call 111, or 999 in an emergency.
Callback card · 19:43Urgent
Priya S. · 07700 900 214 · existing patient
Toothache, no red flags. Given 111 and the safety net. Call first thing, earliest emergency slot.
Saturday · 10:05am · closed
Can’t make Monday
CALLERI need to cancel my hygiene appointment on Monday. Can I move it?
CATCHLINEOf course. I’ll let the team know. Which days suit you better next week?
CALLERThursday or Friday, mornings if possible.
CATCHLINEThanks, Tom. The team will call you back on Monday to rebook. Is it OK to text you a confirmation?
CALLERYes, that’s fine.
Callback card · Sat 10:07Rebook
Tom B. · 07700 900 456 · existing patient
Cancel hygiene Mon 9:30. Wants Thu or Fri morning. Monday’s slot is free to offer to the waiting list.
Sample calls with fictional patients. Catchline never books into your diary itself: your team books, just as they do now.
How it works
Your number. Your script. Live in five days.
No new software, no IT project and no access to your patient records.
01 · DAY 1
Ten-minute setup form
Your hours, your NHS and private position, your published fees, and where urgent callers should go out of hours. We build your line and voice the greeting as your practice.
02 · DAY 3
You hear it and sign it off
You ring your own line, test it, and approve the script. Nothing goes live until the principal is happy with every word.
03 · DAY 5
Forward when busy, at lunch, after hours
Your phone provider forwards calls when the line is engaged, unanswered or closed. Every call becomes a text and email card for reception, plus an 8am summary.
Value, on your numbers
What a missed call is worth to you.
Move the sliders to match your practice. This is illustrative, using your assumptions, not a promise.
£0 a month
Illustrative first-year value of new patients you’d otherwise miss
Extra new patients a month0
Catchline a month£249
Covers its monthly cost after–
Defaults change with the practice type above. Assumes 4.33 weeks a month. Your real figures will differ; we measure them with you in the first 30 days.
What’s included
One job, done properly.
Catchline does
- Answers as your practice, and says upfront that it’s an automated assistant
- Everyday questions: hours, parking, access, NHS or private, plans, finance
- Quotes only your published fees, and “from” prices with the dentist to confirm
- New-patient capture: name, number, NHS or private, reason, preferred times
- Urgent calls: red-flag check, 999 or NHS 111, or your own on-call line
- Cancellations and rebooks passed straight to reception
- Callback cards by text and email within seconds
- 8am and 2pm summary of every call and outstanding callbacks
Catchline doesn’t
- Give clinical advice or diagnose
- Book directly into your diary (add online booking if you want that)
- Take payments or card details
- Need access to your practice software
- Replace your receptionists. It covers the gaps so they can focus on the patients in front of them
Safety and data
Built to stand up to a CQC visit.
You stay in control of what the line says. We give you the paperwork your inspector and your data protection lead will ask for.
Tells callers it’s AI
Every call opens by naming your practice’s automated assistant and giving a recording notice. Callers can always leave a message for the team.
Signposts, never advises
Fixed red-flag questions route to 999 or NHS 111. No diagnosis, no treatment advice, no medication advice.
Compliance pack included
Data processing agreement (you’re the controller, Membula the processor), DPIA template, call-flow and hazard log for sign-off, and privacy-notice wording.
Your data, kept short
Only what reception needs to call back. Set retention periods, UK GDPR throughout, and named sub-processors in the agreement.
Price
One price. No contract. Money back if it’s not for you.
Catchline.
£249a month
£450 one-off setup · rolling monthly · cancel any time
- Busy, lunch and after-hours cover
- 500 minutes a month included
- Voiced and scripted as your practice
- Callback cards by text and email
- Daily call summaries
- Compliance pack and DPA
- Script changes whenever you need
- Live in 5 working days
30-day money-back guarantee. If Catchline isn’t right for you within 30 days of going live, we refund your setup fee and your first month in full. Terms
Add when you need them
Extra minutes, over 500 a month35p a minute
Second language (e.g. Polish, Urdu, Korean)+£95 a month
Extra site in your group£450 + £249/mo
Online booking page, built for you£950 + £450/yr
Membula Ltd isn’t VAT registered, so these are the full prices you pay. Most practices use far fewer than 500 minutes; we tell you if you’re getting close.
Questions
What practices ask us.
Will patients mind talking to an AI?
Ring the demo and judge for yourself. It’s calm, quick and says upfront what it is. Callers who’d rather not talk to it can leave a message for the team, and you hear every call in your summary.
Do we need new phones or software?
No. Your existing provider (BT, a VoIP system, or your practice phone supplier) forwards calls when the line is busy, unanswered or closed. We send the exact settings and can talk your supplier through it.
Does it connect to our practice software?
It doesn’t need to. Requests arrive as callback cards and reception books as usual. That’s why it can go live in days rather than weeks.
Is it safe for urgent calls?
It asks fixed red-flag questions and sends anyone at risk to 999 or NHS 111. Otherwise it gives your own urgent route, marks the call urgent and gives a safety-net message. It never diagnoses or advises.
What about GDPR and CQC?
You’re the data controller and Membula acts as your processor under a written agreement. You get a DPIA template, the call flow and a hazard log to sign off, and privacy-notice wording. Keep them with your governance records.
Can it say what our NHS position is?
Yes. It says exactly what you tell it: taking NHS children only, adults on a waiting list, private availability, plans. You can change it the same day if your list opens or closes.
What if we go over 500 minutes?
Extra minutes are 35p each. A typical overflow call lasts one to two minutes, so 500 minutes covers a few hundred calls. We warn you before you get close.
Is there a contract?
No. It’s monthly and you can cancel any time. In the first 30 days after go-live you can also claim a full refund of setup and your first month.
We’re a group. Does it work across sites?
Yes. Each site gets its own hours, fees and routing, with its own summary. Extra sites are £450 setup and £249 a month.
What do you need from us?
The ten-minute setup form, twenty minutes to test and sign off the script, and five minutes with your phone provider to switch on forwarding.
Ready when you are
Stop losing the lunchtime calls.
Ring the demo, then start. Your line is live in five working days, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Guarantee and terms, in plain English
30-day money-back guarantee
- Applies to the setup fee (£450) and your first monthly payment (£249), per site.
- Claim within 30 days of your go-live date by emailing chirag@membula.io. No reason needed.
- We refund to the account you paid from within 7 days and switch the line off.
Billing
- Setup is invoiced when you sign up; monthly fees are billed in advance.
- Minutes over the included 500 are billed in arrears at 35p a minute.
- Cancel any time with 30 days’ notice; there’s no minimum term.
What we don’t claim
- Revenue figures on this page are illustrative and use your own assumptions.
- Catchline answers forwarded calls; it can’t answer calls your provider doesn’t forward, or during a telecoms outage.
- Full terms and the data processing agreement are sent before you pay.