South Tyneside dental service rewarded for work with children
Members of staff from the NHS South of Tyne and Wear dental service are celebrating after they came second in the local health improvement category at the recent NHS Alliance Awards in Bournemouth.
The team was rewarded for their work with children; members of the team have been working to promote good oral health and provide excellent standards of healthcare for disabled children in the local area. The NHS Alliance Awards recognise hard work, expertise and excellence in primary care and the team were delighted to be rewarded for their hard work.
Julie Fitzgerald, a special care dentist, works alongside other health professionals to provide oral healthcare for disabled children in the region; she said that the team wanted to make sure that disabled children were offered the best possible standards of oral healthcare, as well as specialist paediatric medical care. In the past, many children only saw a dentist when they were referred for specialist treatment; however, the health service is now working to ensure that all children see their dentist on a regular basis and not solely when they require dental treatment.
NHS South of Tyne and Wear was also praised for work with substance misuse; the trust set up a project to help local children who were having troubles with drug abuse. David Henderson, head of substance misuse services, said the project had enabled many people who had previously been overlooked and lost to be recognised and offered the help they needed; the project has been a great success and the team is now looking to expand the service to help people in surrounding areas.
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