UEA confirms plans for new dental development centre
The University of East Anglia has confirmed plans for a new dental development centre.
The university has announced the forthcoming opening of Norwich Dental Development Centre in what is hoped will be a major step towards creating a dental school on campus. The facility will provide education, training and support for local dentists and dental professionals.
Prof David Maguire, vice-chancellor, said that the development is key to tackling ongoing access issues in the region. The shortage of dentists in East Anglia is well-documented and the number of patients struggling to get appointments is increasing month by month. The development represents the first step towards building skills in the area and facilitating the recruitment and retention of more dentists in the East of England. Despite the positive news, Prof Maguire urged the government to support plans to open a fully functional School of Dentistry at the university to secure local services in the future.
The project has been supported by local MPs, who have encouraged ministers to consider plans for a new dental school in the East very seriously. They claim that opening a new dental school would help to boost dentist numbers and encourage graduates to stay in the area after finishing their studies.
Norfolk and Norwich have been labelled ‘dental deserts’ due to the shortage of dentists and NHS dental places. Currently, there is one dentist to every 2,600 patients and the number of dentists is declining.
Campaign group, Toothless in Suffolk, which launched to rally the government to improve access to NHS dentistry, said that opening a dental development centre wasn’t enough to make a significant difference to local people. Mark Jones, campaign coordinator, said that the only news people want to hear is that there is a new NHS dental contract, which actively promotes and supports recruitment and retention so that patients have access to dental services without waiting for months or years or having to travel for hours.
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