Dental Therapist - NHS

We love what we do and we think you will, too!

At Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust (GHC), we provide joined-up mental health, physical health and learning disability services to people of all ages across Gloucestershire. We run community hospitals and provide care and support in people’s own homes and in a range of other locations across the county.

We are on a mission to enable people to live the best life they can and we have a vision to work together to provide outstanding care. We put people at the heart of our services, focusing on personalised care by asking ‘what matters to you’.

We’re passionate about making sure that everyone can contribute to achieving our mission and we are continually working to support healthy and happy high-quality teams in all areas of the Trust.

Our application process aims to understand each candidates knowledge, skills and experience. We have found that candidates that use AI to generate their answers can lack specificity and fail to address key criteria outlined in the job description.

It is really important to personalise your application to convey your individual skills, knowledge, and experiences effectively and for us to understand why you are applying for this role with GHC. We discourage over reliance on AI-generated applications as it will lessen your chances of success in securing an interview with us .

Job overview

Do you want to make a difference? If so, why not consider a career with the community dental service.

An exciting opportunity has become available for a Dental Therapist to join our team at Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Trust Community Dental Services, supporting clinics across the county for a 12-month fixed term contract. This is an opportunity to experience delivering care in a community service setting and to gain valuable experience whilst you are with us.

You will work in collaboration with the wider clinical team to deliver dental treatment and preventative care to children and adults with special care requirements including learning difficulties, physical disabilities, mental health problems, medically compromised as well as those with behavioural, social and language barriers in a clinic setting and providing domiciliary care

As you will be expected to provide support to all clinics across Gloucestershire, the ability to visit all bases in the county is essential.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be part of a specialist service and have the opportunity to work in various clinical settings including community hospitals, community health centres, domiciliary care and residential homes whilst being supported by an experienced Dental Nurse.

The people who access the community dental service will have been referred to the service as they are unable to access the care they require in a general dental practice setting. The post holder will be working alongside a Specialist in Special Care and a highly experienced and friendly dental team.

This is a fantastic opportunity for a Dental Therapist with a special interest in working with patients with additional needs and paediatrics in a community setting to gain valuable experience by learning new skills and experience using specialist equipment under the supervision of a very experienced team.

The post holder will be encouraged to utilise their full scope of practice working under the prescription of a dental surgeon.

The Community Dental Services Gloucestershire is passionate about investing in its dental team. We provide our staff with opportunities to grow their capabilities and support Dental Therapists to develop additional skills.

Training will be supported to develop additional skills.

The qualification, training & experience requirements for the role are underlined in the Job Description/Person Specification.

Working for our organisation

We have in excess of 5000 staff working over 50 sites, providing a diverse range of services. We strive to support an organisational culture that is welcoming, builds and celebrates inclusivity and diversity and provides a sense of belonging and trust.

The annual NHS Staff Survey gives our people the opportunity to tell us about their experience working at the Trust. For the 2023 survey just over 2800 colleagues gave us their views (58.5%). It was great to see from the results that colleagues are saying that:

• 89.7% believe they are making a positive difference to patients/service users;
• 73.3% would recommend the organisation as a place to work;
• 82.4% agree that care of patients and service users is the organisations priority;
• 76.7% would be happy with the standard of care for a friend or relative

Our results put us as 5th nationally as a Community, Mental Health and Learning Disabilities NHS Employer of Choice and 1st equal amongst all NHS Provider Trusts in the South West. However, we know we have more to do and will continue to drive forward our commitment to making GHC a Great Place to Work.

• Dental treatment as permitted by statute pertaining to a Dental Therapist.
• Communication with patients who may have more complex medical conditions or special needs patients who may have physical/learning disabilities. To ensure appropriate and enhanced methods of communication are used where suitable; such as easy read or Makaton.
• Display at all times clinical operative competence.
• Ensure efficient and effective treatment of patients who have booked appointments.
• Liaise and work closely with Senior Dental Officers, Dental Officers and Dental Nurses in order to provide an effective treatment service to those patients with identified treatment need.
• To treat phobic/nervous patients under the use of conscious sedation
• To provide at home (domiciliary visits) to patients that are housebound.
• Undertake fieldwork contributing to national epidemiology programmes BASCD.
• To attend trust events to promote oral health.
• The Post holder will demonstrate evidence of continuous Professional Development ensuring contemporary knowledge of current practices.
• Utilising the full therapist scope of practice, providing treatment by referral, or under direct access.
• This post requires the Therapist to work in a Community Dental Clinic which provides care for patients requiring special care dentistry.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Qualified Dental Therapist

• Diploma in Dental Health Education

Qualifications

• GDC Registration

Experience

• Experience of working in a community dental setting

When joining us, as well as becoming part of a team that makes a difference, we also offer:

• Free car parking at many of our sites
• 27 days leave plus bank holidays, increasing up to 33 days with long service
• A broad range of training and development opportunities, including apprenticeships up to Level 7 qualification.
• A multi-professional preceptorship programme for all Newly Qualified; Nurses, Nursing Associates, Internationally Educated Practitioners, Allied Health Professionals and Return to Practice Practitioners.
• Generous NHS pension and enhanced pay when if you work unsocial hours
• Flexible, family friendly and agile working opportunities
• Recognition and long service awards
• Fast Track physiotherapy
• Our Wellbeing line
• Access to discounts and salary sacrifice schemes; including Cycle to Work, Car scheme and discounts on travel, leisure and retailers.

Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date. Good luck with your application.

For more information please see the attached 'Additional Information for Applicants' document.