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Just a repost as you can find the original here https://sway.cloud.microsoft/M9jW9dK2vwve5D30?ref=Link
News From The Dean
Dear Colleagues,
Welcome to the latest edition of the School of Dentistry’s official newsletter – The Dental Mirror. This newsletter is primarily to inform everyone as to what is happening across the Midlands Region but also to capture and celebrate all the news from every dental registrant. So, if you know of something that is going on across the Midlands then please do let us know so that we can include it in future editions.
It been an eventful summer as we said goodbye to one cohort of trainees and hello to a new one – more of that later. My first duty is to welcome the latest member of our Midlands Team and to say hello to Fiona Patch who joins the team as the new Training Programme Director for the Leicestershire and Northamptonshire DFT scheme. Fiona brings with her a wealth of experience including dental legal work and will be a real asset to all aspects of our training. This recruitment has been facilitated by the exciting establishment of a new 10th DFT scheme in Coventry for which Idnan Mehmood has moved from Leicester to start off the new scheme.
Onto our new cohorts of trainees. We held a foundation training induction event in Birmingham on the 2nd September for our new dentist and therapist trainees. It was fantastic to welcome 173 new trainees to the Midlands with 140 single year foundation dentists, 12 new 2-year dental joint training dentists and also 19 therapists. Another area of expansion that I am delighted to highlight is that of our dental fellows. This year we welcomed 7 new dentists, nurses and technicians with primary care, leadership, and research making up the team – I cannot wait to see the amazing projects that they tackle over the next 12 months. We also held induction events in Coventry for all our new DCT trainees and welcome them to their new year of training. Lastly, September saw 25 new DST trainees start in training as they continue with their exciting journey towards becoming specialists and consultants. You will also see in this Newsletter, that our workforce development is really expanding under the able management of Jennie Ross (Associate Dean for Dental Workforce Development (DWD)). Jennie is supported by Jo Dalby and Sara Elston who as a team have really expanded the whole area of DWD and you can see some of their hard work in the advertising of courses in the pages below.
Expansion is very much the hot topic at the moment and probably the subject that is taking up most of my time as we start to plan for the future. Currently, we are looking at increases in trainee numbers from COVID bulge years (2025/26), ICB redistribution of training places, International Dental Graduates, Centres for Dental Development and of course, the NHS’s Long Term Workforce Plan. All of these programmes will see pressures in terms of numbers which will translate to an increased requirement not just in funding but also training places, educational supervisors, and educator staff over the next few years. The landscape is changing all the time, and I will return to this topic in future newsletters.
So, a busy time has been had by all over recent months, but I never cease to be amazed and proud of the whole team as we move forwards in the brave new world of NHS England.
Thank you to everyone for your continued help and support in all areas of dental education and I look forward to bringing you all the news from the Region in future episodes of the Dental Mirror.
Yours aye,
Mike Foster
Midlands Postgraduate Dean
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