NHS Lothian
West Lothian Community Health and Care Partnership
Public Dental Service
SENIOR DENTAL OFFICER (BAND B) FULL TIME 37.5 HOURS
1.
Outline of the post
This post will provide comprehensive dental care for adults with a broad range of
special needs. This will include individuals with a physical, sensory, intellectual,
mental, medical, emotional or social impairment or disability.
The job description below gives you more information on the broad range of work that
this entails.
You will be part of the Lothian Public Dental Service and the role of the whole service
is outlined in Section 4 of this document.
You are strongly advised to contact the Assistant Clinical Director or Clinical Director
named at the end of Section 5 for an informal discussion about the posts. You would
be very welcome if you would like to visit prior to interview.
2.
NHS Lothian
NHS Lothian is an integrated NHS Board in Scotland providing primary,
community, mental health and hospital services. Mr Tim Davison is Chief
Executive and Dr David Farquharson is Medical Director.
The NHS Board determines strategy, allocates resources and provides
governance across the health system. Services are delivered by Lothian
University hospitals division, the Royal Edinburgh Hospital and associated mental
health services, 4 community health (and social care) partnerships (CH(C)Ps) in
City of Edinburgh, West Lothian, East Lothian and Midlothian, and a Public Health
directorate.
NHS Lothian serves a population of 850,000.
2.1 Community Healthcare Partnerships
The four established Lothian Community Health (and Social Care) Partnerships
serve the population of Edinburgh, Midlothian, East Lothian and West Lothian.
The Public Service is hosted by the West Lothian Community Health and Care
Partnership, which is based in the West Lothian Civic Centre, Livingston.
The CH(C)Ps provide services from large Community Treatment Centres, Health
Centres and Clinics. Dental Services are provided from these locations as well as
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from a smaller number of purpose built centres, e.g. Chalmers Dental Centre and
Bonnyrigg Dental Centre.
Hospitals in the CH(C)Ps include:
St Michael’s and Tippethill in West Lothian
The Astley Ainslie Hospital in Edinburgh
Rosslynlee Hospital in Midlothian
Herdmanflat Hospital
Roodlands Hospital in East Lothian.
The four CHPs are coterminous with Edinburgh, Midlothian, East Lothian and
West Lothian Councils bringing together those responsible for planning, managing
and providing community-based health services for the population of Edinburgh
and the Lothians.
There are 7,500 members of staff. In addition, there are approximately 1,000
independent contractors in General Medical and Dental Practice, as well as
pharmacists and opticians. A population of 850,000 people is served across
health board area. The range of services care of the elderly, medical
rehabilitation, community mental health, substance misuse and learning disability,
district nursing and health visiting, family planning, well woman, comprehensive
dental care and those provided by Professions Allied to Medicine, such as
physiotherapy, pharmacies and optometrists. Specialist services provided include
brain injury rehabilitation, bio-engineering and prosthetics, drugs and alcohol
misuse and harm reduction, AIDS/HIV and Children and Family Psychiatric
Services.
2.2 Royal Edinburgh hospital and Associated Services
The Royal Edinburgh and Associated Services provides a range of Mental Health
services to the population of Lothian and other Boards within Scotland.
The Royal Edinburgh Hospital is located on the south side of the City of
Edinburgh. It comprises some 20 wards, 420 beds, day hospitals and outpatient
facilities. The hospital provides the following range of specialities:
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Acute Mental Health
Rehabilitation
Psychiatric Emergency Team 24/7
Outpatients
Assessment Psychiatry of Old Age
Forensic Medium Security Unit
Inpatient facilities for under 18s
Psychotherapy Service
Psychology Services
Services for Eating Disorders
Day Hospitals – Psychiatry of Old Age
There are an additional 46 bed and 1 day hospitals for Psychiatry of Old Age in
the north of the city at the Royal Victoria Hospital.
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The hospital is currently housed in a mix of accommodation ranging from 19 th
century to present. There is a major project now in place to take forward a
reprovisioning programme in line with the strategic vision with the “Delivery for
Mental Health” Scottish Executive 2006.
2.3 University Hospitals Division
The University Hospitals Division provides a full range of secondary and tertiary clinical
services to the populations of Edinburgh, Midlothian, East Lothian and West Lothian. The
Division is one of the major research and teaching centres in the United Kingdom.
Hospitals included in the Division are:
The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
The Western General Hospital
The Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh
St Johns Hospital
Royal Victoria Hospital
Liberton Hospital
The Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion.
The Royal Infirmary Edinburgh
The Royal Infirmary Edinburgh (RIE) is a major teaching hospital on a green field site in the
South East of the city built in 2003. It comprises 25 wards, 869 beds, and 24 operating
theatres, and is equipped with modern theatre and critical care equipment and monitoring.
Within the main building is a dedicated, multidisciplinary, 5 theatre day surgery complex. The
hospital provides for most specialities and is the centre for:
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General surgery with a focus on the upper GI tract
Vascular surgery
Hepato-biliary and Transplant Surgery
Gastroenterology
The Scottish Liver Transplant Programme
Cardiac and Thoracic surgery
Elective and Trauma Orthopaedics surgery
Neonatology
Obstetrics & Gynaecology
Cardiology
Renal Medicine
Respiratory and Sleep Medicine
Emergency Department and Regional Trauma Centre.
There is a Combined Assessment Unit which takes unselected GP or direct emergency
referrals, and from A&E. CAU includes the Dept of Liaison Psychiatry and the Scottish
Poisons Bureau and Treatment Centre. There are full supporting Laboratory and Diagnostic
Radiology Services (including CT, MR, Ultrasound and NM and PET scanning will be
available in 2008). There is a full range of lecture theatres, a library and AV facilities.
It is envisaged that neurosciences and the Royal Hospital for Sick Children will be co-located
at the Royal Infirmary site in 2016.
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Western General Hospital
The Western General Hospital (WGH) has 600 beds and 11 operating theatres and is
equipped with modern theatre and critical care equipment and monitoring. The Anne
Ferguson building was completed in 2001. The hospital provides for most specialties and is
the centre for:
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Neurology, Neurosurgery and neuropathology
UK CJD unit
Colorectal Surgery
Urology and Scottish Lithotripter Centre
Breast Surgery and Breast screening
Gastro-Intestinal disease
Rheumatology
Infectious Diseases
Haematology Oncology
Medical Oncology
Radiation Oncology (including 6 LINACs)
Dermatology (Inpatient)
Medicine of the Elderly/Stroke Medicine
There is an Acute Receiving Unit, which accepts GP referrals and 999 ambulance medical
cases on a zoned basis within the city, and a nurse led Minor Injuries Unit. There is no
trauma unit at this hospital. There are full supporting Laboratory and Diagnostic Radiology
Services (including CT, MR, Ultrasound and NM).There is a full range of lecture theatres, a
library and AV facilities.
St John’s Hospital
St John’s Hospital opened in 1989 and is located in the centre of Livingston; a new town
about 30 minutes drive west from Edinburgh. The hospital provides for most common
specialties but does not have emergency general surgery or orthopaedic trauma operating.
The hospital has a paediatric ward and is the centre for:
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General Medicine
Obstetrics & Gynaecology
Child Health including Paediatrics and community child health
The supraregional Burns and Plastic Surgery unit.
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
ENT
Critical Care (ITU, HDU and CCU)
Accident and Emergency
General Surgery
Orthopaedics
Anaesthetics
Mental Health including ICCU and ICPU
Since 2005 general surgery and orthopaedics have been reconfigured in NHS Lothian with
SJH being developed as a major elective centre for the region. Lothian’s ENT service was
relocated to SJH to create an integrated head and neck unit with OMFS and Plastic Surgery.
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Recent developments at SJH include a new endoscopy suite, an Intensive Psychiatric Care
Unit, a digital mammography unit, an oncology (cancer care) day centre, a satellite renal
dialysis unit and a £2.75m reprovision of A&E. There are full supporting Laboratory and
Diagnostic Radiology Services (including CT, Ultrasound and NM).
The hospital has been accredited full teaching hospital status by the University of Edinburgh.
There is a full range of lecture theatres, a library and AV facilities.
The Royal Hospital for Sick Children (RHSC) is a 141 bedded hospital providing general
and specialist services for children. The hospital is situated in a residential area close to the
centre of Edinburgh and is approximately 3 miles from the site of the New Royal Infirmary
and the co-located University of Edinburgh Medical School and 3 miles from the Western
General Hospital. The RHSC is a 151-bedded Hospital, and is the main paediatric teaching
hospital for the South-East of Scotland providing general and specialised services on a local,
regional and national basis. It acts as the local paediatric referral centre for the children of
Edinburgh
and surrounding areas, and as a tertiary referral centre for intensive care
patients; gastroenterology, hepatology & nutrition; respiratory medicine; cardiology;
nephrology; neurology; oncology; haematology; neonatal surgery; plastic surgery;
orthopaedic surgery; urological surgery and aspects of general surgery.
Hospital accommodation encompasses five theatres, a critical care unit comprising a 6/8
bedded Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, 4/6 bedded High Dependency Unit and a 3 bedded
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. There is an excellent library facility and a modern lecture
theatre with a full range of audio-visual equipment.
All services are supported by comprehensive radiology, neurophysiology, laboratory and
therapy services. The local radiology department provides on site Magnetic Resonance
Imaging, CT Scanning, nuclear scanning and ultrasound. On site laboratories provide
biochemistry, haematology, pathology and neuropathology services.
2.4 Department of Public Health Medicine
The Department of Public Health improves the health of the people of Lothian in
collaboration with many other partners including the University of Edinburgh and uses a
range of knowledge, experience and networking capability to monitor and improve health
and collate and interpret health related information.
To enable efficient management of the Department: there are at present four groups in the
Directorate. These are; Healthy Communities, Healthcare, Health Protection and Health
Information,
3. University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh was established in 1582 and is one of the largest in the United
Kingdom located on a number of prominent sites in Scotland’s capital city. It is Scotland’s
premier research University and within the top 5 Universities in Europe for its Biomedical
Sciences.
The University of Edinburgh’s College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine (CMVM; Head
Professor Sir John Savill) is an internationally leading force in basic-to-clinical translational
research. The College has a consistent 30-year strategy of interdisciplinarity and integration
of basic and clinical sciences. In the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (2008), the
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based Clinical Subjects. In 2008/9, CMVM attracted over £120 million in external peerreviewed grant funding.
It has established several major interdisciplinary research Centres:
i. MRC Centre for Inflammation Research (Director, Professor John Iredale)
ii. Centre for Cardiovascular Science (Director, Professor Brian Walker) incorporating the
BHF Centre of Research Excellence (Director, Professor John Mullins)
iii. Centre for Reproductive Biology (Director, Professor Phillipa Saunders) and MRC Human
Reproductive Sciences Unit (Director, Professor Robert Millar) including the Tommy’s Centre
(Director, Professor Jane Norman).
iv. MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine (Director, Professor Sir Ian Wilmut)
v. Centre for Molecular Medicine (Director, Professor David Porteous)
vi. Centre for Cancer Research (Director, Professor David Harrison)
vii. Centre for Population Health Sciences (Director, Professor Harry Campbell)
viii. MRC Human Genetics Unit (Director, Professor Nick Hastie)
These Centres are predominantly based at two sites: the Queen’s Medical Research
Institute at the Royal Infirmary, and the Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine at the
Western General Hospital. The co-location of basic science and clinical groups within stateof-the-art infrastructure and technology provides an excellent and exciting opportunity to
conduct translational research at the highest level.
This academic power base is supported by clinical research infrastructure that includes:
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Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility
Clinical Research Imaging Centre
Edinburgh Clinical Trials Unit (UKCRN Registered) and Health Services Research Unit
Scottish Brain Imaging Research Centre
Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre
Academic and Clinical Central Office for Research and Development
An Academic Department of Critical care Medicine was established within the University of
Edinburgh in 2011 and is led by Professor Timothy Walsh.
4. NHS Library and Postgraduate Facilities
There are excellent facilities on all sites.
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5.
Public Dental Service
The role of the Salaried Primary Care Dental Service (SPCDS) is to:
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Promote oral health
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Monitor the oral health of the population of Lothian
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Inspect selected populations for oral disease
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Provide training for all members of the dental team both pre and post qualification
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Provide general dental services, including specialist services, for all those who cannot
obtain this from general dental practice
These groups are:
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Anyone with a physical or learning disability who has difficulty accessing care in
general dental practice
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Anyone with a medically compromising condition who has difficulty accessing care in
general dental service
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Anyone with a drug or alcohol abuse problem whose condition makes it difficult for
them to access the general dental service
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Any child whose family cannot or will not take them to a dentist
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Anyone with mental illness who has difficulty accessing care in the general dental
practice
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Any patient in hospital
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Anyone in a care home who has difficulty accessing care in general dental practice
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Anyone whose fear of dentistry discourages them from seeking dental treatment
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Homeless people who have difficulty accessing care in general dental practice
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6.
Details of the Post
Responsible to:
Assistant Clinical Director
Accountable to:
Clinical Director, Salaried Primary Care Dental Service
Personal Development:
The postholder will participate in the Personal
Development and Performance Review process.
Out of hours cover:
The postholder will participate in the Lothian Dental
Out of Hours Scheme.
The Senior PDS Dentist will:
1. Provide high quality dental care for the most challenging individuals with
impairment or disability that is physical, sensory, intellectual, mental, medical,
emotional or social. Most of this treatment will be provided under GDS regulations.
2. Review and allocate referrals, undertaking assessment and treatment planning for
patients requiring medical rehabilitation services e.g. stroke, brain injury, patients
with mental health problems and frail older people.
3. Provide training and support for colleagues including public dental service
dentists, dental foundationers, and specialist trainees in special care dentistry.
4. Contribute to the ongoing development of special care dental services in NHS
Lothian, including participation in staff appraisal.
5. Participate in the Lothian Out of Hours Scheme.
COMMUNICATIONS
1. The Senior PDS Dentist will be part of the Senior Clinical Team of Lothian
Salaried Primary Care Dental Service and will play a full part in its work.
2. The dentist will liase and collaborate with all members of the dental and
healthcare professions in Lothian and with colleagues in NHS Lothian to facilitate
both professional and service development.
3. The dentist will liase and collaborate with all members of external
Agencies/Professions such as Education, Care Commission and Social Work to
facilitate provision of the service.
QUALIFICATIONS
The Senior PDS Dentist must be a dental graduate and be currently fully registered
with the General Dental Council. In addition, the post-holder should have extensive
post qualification experience (including experience relevant to the post). Possession
of a postgraduate qualification relevant to the post is essential. Possession of a VT
number or the ability to gain a VT number is essential.
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MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Senior Community Dentist will:
1. Undertake a high quality clinical workload with further development of his/her
areas of clinical expertise.
2. Undertake assessments according to agreed protocols in liaison with the Assistant
Clinical Director, and arrange appropriate ongoing treatment.
3. Provide, or undertake training to provide, sedation for patients with special
sedation needs both as a sedationist and as an operator sedationist.
4. Actively participate in personal clinical effectiveness activities, including continuing
professional development, and lead clinical effectiveness activities within the
Special Care Dentistry Team.
5. Support, advise, teach and train a variety of professional staff; this will include
community dentists, salaried GDPs, dental foundationers, and specialist trainees
in special care dentistry.
6. Provide cross cover for the team along with the Assistant Clinical Director and the
other senior community dentist.
7. Contribute to the ongoing development and strategic planning for the Team.
8. Play a full part in the Senior Clinical Team for the SPCDS including the setting and
meeting of service objectives for the directorate.
9. Participate in the Lothian Out of Hours Scheme. This is likely to mean working 3 –
4 three hour sessions each year.
CONTINUING EDUCATION
Lothian has good access to opportunities for CPD. The Senior PDS Dentist will be
required to take part in the established Personal Development and Performance
Review scheme, which includes agreement of a job plan and annual appraisal.
For further information regarding the duties of these posts contact
Karen Gordon or Chris Cunningham (Assistant Clinical Directors) or Robert Naysmith
(Clinical Director)
Duncan Street Dental Centre
Edinburgh
EH9 1SR
Tel: 0131 667 7114
Email: karen.gordon@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk;
chris.cunningham@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk
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robert.naysmith@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk
7.
Person Specification
Categories
Essential
Physical
No restrictions which would
affect the ability to carry out
the duties of the post.
Attainments
Dentist Registered with the
General Dental Council.
Relevant postgraduate
qualification.
Five years post qualification
experience.
Desirable
Attendance at postgraduate
courses leading to attainment
of advanced clinical skills.
Experience of treating anxious
patients and of using sedation.
Broad experience of treating
special care patients.
Active participation in CPD.
General
Intelligence
Common sense.
Special Aptitudes
Good written & verbal
Aptitude for problem solving.
Good presentation skills.
communication skills.
Ability to teach, train and
motivate.
Ability to work well with dental
colleagues, health care
professionals and other caring
professionals.
A good understanding of
medicine in relation to
dentistry.
Experience of team working.
Interests
Disposition
Circumstances
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Active participation in clinical
governance activities.
Membership of relevant
professional societies.
Desire to develop role of
professions complementary to
dentistry.
An interest in anxiety
management.
Ability to cope with change.
Sense of humour.
Ability to cope with multiple
demands.
Engaging personality.
Ability to move throughout
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An interest in dentistry for
older people.
Lothian at short notice.
Able to participate in out of
hours scheme.
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