NHSE Appoints Two Deputy Chief Dental Officers
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- Published: Wednesday, 08 November 2023 09:35
- Written by Guy Tuggle
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NHS England used its weekly ’Dentistry and Oral Health Update’ bulletin to announce the appointment of two new Deputy Chief Dental Officers for England.
Professor Nick Barker and Mr Shabir Shivj are to work alongside the Interim Chief Dental Officer Jason Wong. Wong was previously a Deputy to his predecessor, Sara Hurley.
The NHS announcement trumpeted the stellar backgrounds of both appointees.
"Professor Nick Barker qualified as a General Dental Practitioner in 1990 and is a Principal Dentist in Colchester. He has been a Local Dental Network Chair in Essex since 2013, providing clinically-led commissioning of primary and secondary care dental services across the county.
He is a Professor of Oral Health Sciences at University of Essex and programme lead in the MSc in Periodontology for dentists and MSc in Advanced Periodontal Practice for hygienists and therapists. He has been a senior clinical policy advisor to the Chief Dental Officer since July 2023, leading on work including the medicines exemptions programme , dental reform and medico-legal matters. Nick joins us substantively in the Deputy Chief Dental Officer role".
Of Mr Shabir Shivji, the announcement said that he "joins the Office of the Chief Dental Officer on a fixed term basis until March 2024.
Shab is an NHS associate dentist in Kent, having qualified from Sheffield University in 1995. Shab has worked as part of NHS England since 2016 when he took the role of NHS England Dental Clinical Advisor. Since then he has fulfilled a number of roles including Senior Dental Advisor to CVD Prevention in General Dental Practice Programme, Regional Dental Advisor for the Workforce, Training and Education Directorate, National Health and Justice Dental Advisor. and since 2022 Shab has been a CORE20PLUS5 Ambassador, promoting the importance of reducing healthcare inequalities across the healthcare system.
As well as buttressing the office of Jason Wong, Barker and Shivji will work "in collaboration with local and regional teams to deliver improved outcomes for patients; continuing the necessary work to recover capacity and capability of our NHS dental care services and maintaining a focus on dental system and contract reform".
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