Prize Recognises New Ways of Working

Prize Recognises New Ways of Working

The winner of the prestigious British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD) Outstanding Innovation Award 2023, has now been announced.

The winner is Armaana Ahmad who is a Specialist in Paediatric Dentistry at Whittington Health NHS Trust. Armaana was awarded the prize for her part in leading a Paediatric Dentistry Advice Clinic (PDAC) which created a virtual dental clinic. The project was begun during the pandemic and supported by a team that included Labina Rahman, Whittington Health CDS Senior Dental Officer and Alexandra Lyne, UCLH Consultant.

The project is said to have transformed the Whittington’s Community Dental Service’s ability to enable every child in their catchment of North West and North Central London to get timely access to specialist-led dental care.

The team took on the challenge of creating an entirely new model that means children no longer need to travel to get expert-led treatment plans for complex cases. With this innovative virtual clinic model, the PDAC ensures that not only do patients get optimal treatment, more quickly than they would traditionally be able to be seen, but this is done without necessitating the cost, logistics and environmental impact of travelling outside their community.

Initially set up with three clinics as pilots the PDAC now has patients booked into a morning clinic split into three one-hour sessions. Dentists from each of Whittington Health CDS’s three area teams log on via a virtual meeting hub for their session.

As part of the prize Armaana will be giving a talk about the PDAC initiative at BSPD’s 2023 conference in Newcastle in September.

Mrs Jenny Harris, President, BSPD said: “The entries to this year’s BSPD Outstanding Innovation Awards were particularly inspiring. During the judging process we were especially impressed with the concept of the ‘safe space’ that Armaana had created. Having this connection with the Consultant means that the CDS teams feel supported to deliver this level of care. We also noted the multiple benefits of the clinic that not only allow more patient cases to be reviewed and treatments planned more quickly, but they also serve as excellent training grounds for developing dental professionals.”

Armaana Ahmad, Specialist in Paediatric Dentistry at Whittington Health said: “Our PDACs are not only beneficial to patients whose cases can be reviewed more quickly - but the virtual clinics are so good for learning too.” She added: “The range of cases being reviewed is more complex than usual, so participants feel that their clinical skills are being developed.”

In addition, Rachael Nichol, Consultant in Paediatric Dentistry, Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Community Dental Service has been awarded highly commended for her Paediatric Dentistry Level 2 complexity care training programme. It aims to support children and young people to access quality care nearer where they live, especially in areas of high dental need and health inequality. The aim of the on-line programme is to develop and up-skill practitioners enabling an enhanced level of paediatric dentistry care to be undertaken as part of a specialist-led managed clinical network.

About the highly commended award, Mrs Jenny Harris said: “Rachael’s Paediatric Dentistry Level 2 complexity care training programme is an initiative of significant importance that is the first of its kind in England. We would love to see how it develops and how it could be replicated in other regions.”

The judges recognised both Armaana and Rachael’s dedication to addressing real needs and that both of their projects were excellent examples of how the dental profession can embrace new ways of working and training.

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