UCLan reaches ten-year milestone
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- Published: Thursday, 26 April 2018 07:45
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There were smiles all round as the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) reached its ten-year milestone in dentistry training. The School of Dentistry has produced more than 220 new dentists since opening its doors a decade ago. Angela Magee, Head of the School of Dentistry, commented: “What we have achieved over the last ten years is phenomenal.”
When UCLan’s School of Dentistry opened its doors ten years ago, it was one of only two new dental schools to be created in England for over 100 years. Since then, UCLan dental students have treated more than 23,000 patients during their training and the School has produced 224 new dentists who have expanded the region’s dental workforce considerably. Almost 60 of its new dental graduates have chosen to establish their careers in the Preston area with more settling in the wider North West region.
The University invested £5.25 million in its state-of the-art dental school in Preston, which has one of the most sophisticated ‘phantom head’ rooms in Europe where students learn their skills on simulators before progressing to patients. It is also one of the few universities in the country to boast its own on-campus Dental Clinic, allowing undergraduate students to obtain practical experience in high-end dental work.
The School was the first to pioneer a new mode of dental education, in which the graduate entry Bachelor of Dental Surgery students gain their experience in local community Dental Education Centres (DECs) rather than city centre hospitals, which has provided a good alternative to the traditional approach. The DECs, located in Accrington, Blackpool, Carlisle and Morecambe Bay, were established in areas of high need and poor dental health where access to NHS dentistry was limited, in part, owing to difficulties in attracting qualified dentists to the area.
At a special 10th anniversary event, which welcomed graduates and former staff back to the School, NHS England’s Deputy Chief Dental Officer and UCLan Honorary Professor Eric Rooney commented: “Over the last 10 years many of the initial aims of the School have been fulfilled, helping patients and creating a vibrant dental academic community. Our population, their needs, and the way we care for them is changing and UCLan is well placed to develop and adapt over the next 10 years and beyond.”
Angela Magee, Head of the UCLan School of Dentistry, commented: “The University set up the School as a direct response to the needs of the region’s healthcare economy when the Government made a clear commitment to improving access to NHS dental services. What we have achieved over the last ten years is phenomenal, producing more than 220 fully qualified dentists who have gone onto work in the NHS and filling a skills gap in areas of the region that lacked local dental services.
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