Work Starts on Norwich Dental School -- Amid Uncertainties
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- Published: Monday, 14 July 2025 11:03
- Written by Peter Ingle
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There have been some remarkably mixed messages about the proposed Norwich Dental School, delivered virtually simultaneously.
In the aftermath of the NHS 10 year plan announcement, the BBC has reported that work on the first phase of a dental school in Norwich has already started, despite needing final approval from the government.
There are photos of hard hatted construction workers and a concrete shell, as well as drawings of the finished building. The University of East Anglia (UEA), which will be home to the new institution, has had its course approved by the GDC, but now needs the government to ‘rubber-stamp’ its application.
Pro-vice-chancellor for medicine, Professor Philip Baker (pictured), referring to the areas dental desert status, admitted it would not solve everything overnight but would be "one contributor to really make a difference". The professor said the UEA would do all it could to convince trainees to stay in the NHS permanently. "Our dental graduates will understand the needs of their communities, understand how important having an NHS dental service is to the region. I guess we really want to instil that pride and that loyalty to the community."
At the same time the Norwich Evening News gave a very different perspective on the dental school’s progress, in a story headed: “Norfolk Dental School hangs in the balance amid uncertainty.”
Norfolk County Council leader Kay Mason Billig said the future of the proposed UEA dental school is hanging in the balance because the government has yet to allocate places for students at the facility.
She called on people to put pressure on the county’s MPs, so they, in turn, will help persuade the government to confirm that students will be able to begin courses from September, “so people can access NHS dentists.”
The facility will be housed in a new extension to the Edith Cavell Building at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. The UEA’s application to train dentists has the GDC’s approval, but still faces a wait to discover whether it will be able to offer places at the school from September 2026.
Representatives have been lobbying government and MPs, and Mrs Mason Billig urged people to make clear to their parliamentary representatives how vital the new school is.
The project has cross party support with the leader of Conservative-controlled County Hall saying: "This council has always supported getting a dental school into Norfolk. But unless the government gives us the training places we are not going to get this off the ground. I urge our MPs to put more pressure on the government to get them to give us these places.
"I know there are limited numbers across the country, but that doesn’t mean to say we should not have some here in East Anglia. The nearest dental schools to us are in Birmingham or London and that is quite simply not acceptable for the people in our region."
Backers believe the school will help solve the dentistry crisis in the region, where many are unable to access NHS treatment. The hope is that by providing dental training locally, more students will be encouraged to settle in Norfolk and fill some of the huge gaps in the county’s provision, giving more opportunities for people to get NHS treatment.
Mrs Mason Billig said: "If we can train dentists here, there’s a very good chance they will stay in our area. We don’t want a dental desert.
"If any of you get the chance to speak to your MPs, please impress on them that this is really important. There’s no point building a school if we can’t train in it."
The remarks from the schemes supporters about the nearest dental school being in London, over 100 miles away, as well as a Norwich based school being the first in the East of England, suggest a remarkable level of insularity.
The University of Suffolk Dental School is up, running, and already training dental therapists with clear ambitions to train dentists as well. Located in Ipswich, in the East of England, it is 43 miles from Norwich.
There appears to be a bizarre situation where The Greater Norwich Growth Board, made up of Norfolk, South Norfolk, Broadland and Norwich councils, has provided £1.5m towards the school and there are photos of the proposed premises under construction, yet the schemes ultimate paymasters have yet to give their approval.
Ultimately the schemes progress is reliant on the approval of Wes Streeting, who said he "would consider the case very carefully." That is the same Wes Streeting who when asked to give a date for a new NHS dental contract, refused, saying: "unless I am 100% certain I can achieve the promise, I don’t make it.”
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