New Chair of the first Urgent Care MCN

Jonathan Bouwer-Davies has been appointed Chair of the first Urgent Care Managed Clinical Network (MCN) in the South West.

Jonathan (pictured) has completed postgraduate training at the University of Bristol, the Eastman Dental Institute and King's College London. He is currently Dental Director at Smile Together Dental CIC who run several services in Cornwall. Jonathan has experience in service redesign and culture change and will play a vital part in the region's Dental Reform Programme.

The first task for the newly formed Urgent Care MCN will be to review the current urgent dental care pathway and develop a best practice region-wide approach, working with commissioners, stakeholders, staff and the public to deliver an improved dental clinical urgent care pathway that links into a stabilisation pathway also in development.

This is an exciting time to join the South West Dental team as the seven MCN Chairs, together with the Local Dental Network Chair, Matthew Jerreat, work together to build a South West Dental Clinical Team across the region for all dental clinicians. The team have established bi-monthly webinars and this July will launch a region-wide shared workspace on the NHS Future Collaboration Space.

This is the latest appointment following Professor Claire Stevens CBE being appointed a Consultant Advisor and Dr Sarah Dewhurst's appointment as Chair of Paediatric Dentistry MCN. The Urgent Care MCN joins the six other MCNs in the region:

• Orthodontic MCN

• Oral surgery MCN

• Paediatric dentistry MCN

• Restorative MCN

• Secure settings MCN

• Special Care MCN.