October: ministerial visit | What’s new and features

Minister of State for Care Stephen Kinnock talks to students during his visit to Bristol Dental School.

Minister of State for Care Stephen Kinnock with students and staff, including the Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Bristol, Professor Evelyn Welch, outside Bristol Dental School.

Minister of State for Care Stephen Kinnockwhose portfolio includes primary dentistry, visited the city to tour the school, which provides state-of-the-art clinical training for undergraduate and postgraduate students.

as The facility is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).University of Bristol students provide direct dental care to the local community under the supervision of qualified doctors. The Minister learned about the positive contribution that students made to the life of the local community in the first academic year, including:

• Providing 18,000 free dental visits for patients;

• Treating 1,500 patients referred through NHS111 for urgent dental care, doubling the number of urgent appointments in Bristol;

• Support for almost 400 children who were visited and treated by pupils from 11 local primary schools, many of whom had no previous contact with a dentist;

• Collaboration with a local charity Bridge2Aid providing oral health education to 90 carers caring for almost 700 people across Bristol.

Dental school in Bristollocated in the new headquarters of the University Corporate Campus in the Temple Districttrains dental students, dental therapists and dental nurse trainees, and also offers postgraduate programs aimed at improving the qualifications of dental staff. The Minister met dental students and was able to learn more about their future career ambitions in the NHS.

During his visit, the Minister was able to learn about the School’s investment in digital dentistry and its future ambitions to support digital innovation in partnership with the NHS and industry partners, as well as how the School can support the expansion of the number of training places identified under the Program The NHS Long Term Employment Plan.

After his visit, Stephen Kinnock, Minister of State for Care, said: “The visit to Bristol Dental School was a fantastic opportunity to see the important work they do to support the local community – including doubling the number of urgent visits, their work with schools to reach children who might not otherwise go to the dentist, and invest in technology to support our transition from analog to digital.

“We have inherited a broken NHS dental service where patients cannot get an appointment for love or money, but strengthening the workforce and reforming the NHS dental contract are key to this Government’s commitment to rebuilding dentistry as part of our 10-year plan for the NHS. “