New dental unit opens at St John’s Hospital

Jan 28 2010 by John Hutcheson, West Lothian Courier

PATIENTS in West Lothian are set to benefit from a new state-of-the-art dental unit which opened this week.

The £500,000 unit, based at St John’s Hospital, will provide improved specialist services and allow more dentists to be trained.

The facility, which has five dental chairs, will be a major boost to services by giving better access for inpatients at the hospital, patients in the community with complex medical needs and access to specialist orthodontist services.

It will also provide outreach training for postgraduate dentists and dental care students, creating a new generation of professionals including dentists, hygienists/therapists, orthodontic therapists and dental nurses.

The unit, run by West Lothian Community Health and Care Partnership (CHCP), was officially opened on Tuesday by Public Health Minister Shona Robison.

She said: “I am pleased to open this fantastic new facility, which will enable dental services provided within St John’s to operate to their maximum potential.

“The outreach training element will help to increase the dental workforce in Scotland.

“We are investing significantly in NHS dental services and are committed to providing the people of Scotland access to excellent oral healthcare. The number of people who have access to an NHS dentist continues to rise and, with the highest number of dentists working in general dental services since 2003, we are determined that this should continue to improve.”

Dr Charles Winstanley, NHS Lothian chair, said: “We are committed to improving the dental health of everyone who lives in Lothian and this latest development will allow us to provide quality services to the West Lothian community.

“The unit will also further enhance services at St John’s, making the hospital a centre of dental training for Lothian, which will benefit all our patients by providing a range of highly skilled dental care professionals.”

And Theresa Douglas, chair, West Lothian CHCP, added: “This is a significant investment in dental services for West Lothian. The new centre will provide more accessible and specialised services for people in their own community.”