New representative body launched to give dental hospitals a stronger voice

The dental hospitals in Cork and Dublin have joined together with colleagues across the Irish sea to form the Association of Dental Hospitals (ADH) and provide a voice for the sector.

The membership is made up of ı8 dental hospitals or academic clinical facilities, all of which deliver a mixture of clinical service, teaching and research. This new association will now come under the same umbrella as the Dental Schools Council and Association of UK University Hospitals, among other organisations. The aim is that the new organisation will provide a stronger voice for dental hospitals and facilitate closer working, both between dental hospitals and with partners across other sectors and areas of healthcare.

Dr Avril Macpherson, chair of the ADH and clinical director at Liverpool University Dental Hospital, said: “The Association of Dental Hospitals allows not only for greater collaboration between dental hospitals, but also provides an opportunity for colleagues to learn from each other. One of the ways we have been doing this for the past five years has been through a Clinical Effectiveness meeting, held annually in Manchester, where problems and solutions in clinical practice at dental hospitals are shared. We are delighted to have the means to cooperate at a national level and make use of the membership’s significant breadth of knowledge.

“As chair, I look forward to working with my colleagues to improve the delivery of care, provide excellent teaching for the future of our workforce and ensure we build an environment that nurtures innovation and research. I also look forward to increasing dialogue with colleagues across the sector so that together we can continue to improve the dental health and wellbeing of the public.”

For more information, visit the new ADH website at www.dentalhospitals.org.uk