Government Minister visits Dental School

Helen Whateley MP meets the University of Plymouth team to hear about its innovative work
(L-R) Professor Ewen McColl, Head of Peninsula Dental School; Johnny Mercer MP; Helen Whateley MP; Professor Rob Witton, Chief Executive of PDSE; and Nathan Findlay, Chief Operating Officer of PDSE
(L-R) Professor Ewen McColl, Head of Peninsula Dental School; Johnny Mercer MP; Helen Whateley MP; Professor Rob Witton, Chief Executive of PDSE; and Nathan Findlay, Chief Operating Officer of PDSE
Students and staff at the University of Plymouth’s Peninsula Dental School met Health and Social Care Minister Helen Whateley MP today (Thursday 16 May). 
The Minister was accompanied by Plymouth Moor View MP, Johnny Mercer, on a tour of the multi-award-winning facilities at Derriford. 
As well as finding out more about the University’s innovative primary care teaching model – where students treat members of the public, under supervision – the Minister was given the opportunity to try her hand at polishing teeth on a training mannequin known as a ‘phantom head’.  
Helen Whateley MP visits Derriford DEF
Helen Whateley MP visits Derriford DEF
Helen Whateley MP visits Derriford DEF
The Peninsula Dental School (PDS) and Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise (PDSE)’s pioneering work won the Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community category at the Times Higher Education Awards 2023. 
Plymouth is also ranked number one for dentistry in The Guardian’s league tables and the University has won many more accolades, reflecting the efforts of more than 100 staff and 400 students working and studying across Devon and Cornwall. 

We’re proud of our work combining first-rate dental training with outstanding community care and it’s always good for key stakeholders, including members of the Government, to see our efforts first-hand.

What we do here is so far advanced from when I trained in Edinburgh, just over 30 years ago. In Plymouth, we believe that early contact with patients is key, and we were pleased that today’s visitors were able to see some of our first-year students interacting with patients for the first time. 
Our driving force is training the next generation of dentists and dental therapists.  

Ewen McCollEwen McColl
Head of Peninsula Dental School

Since it was established in 2007, PDS has delivered care to more than 60,000 patients, including children, people with learning difficulties, older people at risk of isolation, young carers, people experiencing homelessness, and those living in social housing. 

Our clinics run in key locations across Devon and Cornwall, and the University is planning a new public-facing surgery for people suffering dental pain, in Plymouth city centre.

Where better to train the clinicians of the future than in areas of greatest need such as the rural and coastal communities we serve in South West England?

Robert WittonRobert Witton
Chief Executive of PDSE and Professor of Community Dentistry

Plymouth currently has an intake of 58 students per year, whereas most of England’s dental schools take in 72, so Professor McColl and his team took the opportunity to press home the need for 14 additional places at PDS. 
The University of Plymouth is the only ‘post-92’ institution with both a medical and dental school, and the Government announced a further 17 places for the Peninsula Medical School, this week. 

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