NEWS & NOTES
news
The BDJ news page
Visions of science
The BDJ accepts all general news
items that might interest our
readers. Press releases or articles
should not exceed 500 words and
may be edited. Please include a
colour photograph if possible. As
space for photographs is limited,
priority will be to given to good
quality and/or interesting pictures.
Please send BDJ news items to
Kate Craig.
Advanced Act To Stop
A Leak
It would appear that the rumours regarding the financial and commercial status of
The Advanced Group of Companies are
untrue. Rumours that the software group
have gone into receivership were flatly
denied last week by the company. Confusion has apparently arisen because a
plumbing business with the similar name
of ‘Advanced Group (Europe) Ltd’ had
indeed run into such difficulties.
The Chief Executive of the Advanced
Group, Keith Hemingway, commented
that: ‘we are a supplier of systems not cisterns. Although we pride ourselves on the
range of services we offer to the profession,
I draw the line at a blocked pipe!
New president for
BAFO
The prestigious photography competition, Visions of Science, initiated by Novartis
Pharmaceuticals in association with The Daily Telegraph, is on the look out once again
for striking and original science and medical images as entries in 2001. The competition
was launched on 21 February 2001and this year there is a special award for the best
healthcare photograph with a cash prize of £500. Last year Christopher Hogg, an
orthodontist, won a highly commended award for the above image.
Entries will be accepted until 31 May 2001 and can be in one of the following categories: science close-up, images taken using some form of scientific equipment, e.g. scanning electron microscope, light microscope, x-ray, ultra-sound scanner etc; science
through the lens, images taken using either digital or film camera; science concepts,
images that present scientific ideas, principles or concepts in an abstract way using any
combination of computer imagery, specialist scientific techniques, digital/film camera or
illustration, and finally; Science as art, which is for images that are able to stand alone as
works of art and these entries will be judged on aesthetic values only. Entry forms can be
obtained from the website at www.visions-of-science.co.uk or by calling 020 7613 5577.
recently returned to full time clinical practice
having been responsible for setting up the
Defence Dental Agency Post Graduate Institute at RAF Halton in 1996 where he was
Postgraduate Dental Tutor and Regional
Vocational Training Advisor.
regulatory system. Most recently, Antony
has also been responsible for the development of proposals for revalidation, and for
reforming structure, constitution, and
governance within the field of medical
regulation.
GDC appoints new
Chief Executive and
Registrar
Colonel James Hardy (above) has been
appointed as President of the British Association for Forensic Odontology. Colonel Hardy
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The General Dental Council has appointed Antony Townsend (right) as its new
Chief Executive and Registrar. It is expected that Antony will take up the post on
30th April 2001. Antony Townsend, is currently Director of Standards and Education at the General Medical Council. He
has substantial responsibilities for policies
on medical education, standards and
ethics, and initiatives for improving the
BRITISH DENTAL JOURNAL VOLUME 190 NO.4 FEBRUARY 24 2001
NEWS & NOTES
news
A virtual tonic…
A new service run by the British Library
aims to help doctors, dentists and other
health professionals share skills and
intelligence and help their patients more
effectively. The Telemedicine Information Service aims to promote the growth
of telemedicine in the UK and further
the use of this technology. The key elements of this service are a website
(www.tis.bl.uk), with information on
over 120 current projects, and sections
on people, publications and equipment
as well as an email discussion list and a
current awareness service. All the services are free apart from the current
awareness updates. One of the current
services on the telemedicine service is a
scheme run between the Accident and
Emergency Unit at the Aberdeen Royal
Infirmary and a rural hospital in Scotland. Alan Reid the Director of Communications at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary
Orthodontic prize
says that the telemedicine link allows
them to ‘...make the right decision earlier, reduce traveling time and discomfort
for patients and begin treatment sooner
by transmitting X-ray and visual data to
our doctors. Ultimately livers are saved’.
…and a virtual
victory
The British Dental Health Foundation
has won a victory against an American
website that included a horrifying
description of a child’s visit to the dentist.
The piece describd a tooth extraction in
graphic and gory detail and concentrated
on the negative aspects off the experience.
The charity wrote to the organizer of
the site, which featured creative writing
by US teenagers, and asked for the piece
to be removed because it could trigger
phobia and reinforce negative views of
dentistry. The piece, called The Dentist’s
Chair, has been removed from the ‘fear
and terror’ section of the site and the
editor has written to apologise. The
BDHF feared that by reinforcing a negative stereotype it could result in fear and
apprehension and eventually poor dental health in later life.
clinical standard. The prize was worth
£2000 and also included a trip to Toronto in
Canada, the setting for the annual meeting
of the American Association of Orthodontists. Other awards went to Dr Fiona Dyer,
who won the MOrth Gold Medal and to Dr
Ian Lund who won the prize for the best
treated case in the country.
IiP in North Essex
The Registrar in orthodontics at Chesterfield Royal Hospital, Dr Fiona McKeown, is
reaping in the rewards — as a national winner of one of the most coveted clinical prizes
in the country. The British Orthodontic
Society awarded the Optident MOrth prize
to Dr McKeown after a competition which
involved each registrar presenting two of
their clinical cases and then the judges voting on which was treated to the highest
Bromley Road Dental Surgery is the first
dental practice in the North Essex region to
achieve the Investors in People award.
Practice partners Nick Barker and Hayden
Dixon received the award from the Chairman of Business Link Essex, Richard Wollaston, at Chelmsford's Waterfront Hotel.
This follows five years of exceptional
business growth that in turn has led to the
practice being one of only fifteen nationwide surgeries to pilot Personal Dental Services — a new form of provision of NHS
dentistry. The practice employs fifteen staff
to assist three dentists and one therapist
and is looking to employ a fourth dentist in
the near future.
BRITISH DENTAL JOURNAL VOLUME 190 NO.4 FEBRUARY 24 2001
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