Norfolk MP discusses new dental school plans with health minister
The MP for Broadland, Norfolk, discussed plans for a new dental school in the region during a recent meeting with new health minister, Will Quince.
Jerome Mayhew met with Mr Quince at the House of Commons on Tuesday 11th October. The Conservative MP, who has already had meetings with fellow Norfolk MP, Duncan Baker, and NHS officials earlier this year, was keen to highlight the benefits of a new dental school and underline the depth of need for improved access to dental care in Norfolk.
The proposals for a new dental programme relate to a development at the University of East Anglia (UAE), which is based in Norwich. Mr Mayhew suggested that opening a school at the university could increase the ratio of dentists in Norfolk to reach the national average. Currently, there are 38 dentists per 100,000 people in Norfolk and Waveney, which is well below the average of 54 in England.
One of the main problems for practices and commissioning groups in the region is recruiting dentists. It is difficult to attract dentists to more rural areas and many graduates choose to stay close to the university at which they studied. There are currently no universities in the county offering dental degree programmes and none of the ten training centres in England are located in the East. The nearest schools are in Birmingham and London.
Mr Mayhew used the example of medical students to support his point. Most doctors who qualify from UAE stay in the area. If there was a dental programme, Mr Mayhew suggested, more dentists would want to work locally.
The move has been supported by the university. Head of the medical school, Prof Charles ffrench-Constant, said that a dental school would “significantly increase the flow of dentists into the region” adding that the effect would be “quite immediate.”
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