NHS Shetland appoints permanent dental director

NHS Shetland has appointed Pippa Arbon to the role of dental director.

Mrs Arbon has been interim director for the past year during which the organisation has taken over the running of the St Olaf Street practice in Lerwick formerly run by Alan Owen.

In a statement NHS Shetland said the interview panel for the job included two external panellists who have extensive experience as dental leaders in other health boards in Scotland who came to Shetland to participate in the interviews and to provide “external validation”.

NHS Shetland chief executive Ralph Roberts said: “I am pleased that after a rigorous recruitment process we are able to offer Pippa the dental director post on a substantive basis, and that she will now, with all the staff in the service, be able to continue the development of the dental service we provide.”

Dental services in Shetland have attracted criticism recently.

In its response to a draft strategy for dental health, the NHS area dental committee (ADC) claimed that 30 per cent of children with dental caries (decay) have not been seen in the last year while some 28 per cent of children with gross caries (serious decay to gum level) have not had an appointment for a year. NHS Shetland denied there were problems with the service.