The first patients were welcomed to the new Birmingham Dental Hospital and School of Dentistry last week.
Following completion of construction last month, a detailed plan has been implemented to ensure the smooth transition of both staff and equipment from the existing site to its new home in Edgbaston.
Project director, Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust chief operating officer, Andy Harrison, said: “The new Birmingham Dental Hospital and School of Dentistry will provide a fitting environment from which to deliver our internationally-recognised clinical services, education, and research and we are delighted to be able to welcome staff, students and patients to this superb new environment for clinical treatment and education.”
Professor Phil Lumley, head of the school of dentistry at the University of Birmingham, added: “The facilities within the new building will be a state-of-the-art new home for our world-class teaching and research, as the next generation of dentists and dental specialists are trained here.
“As well as the first-class treatment carried out here for people from the city region and beyond; we will continue with our ground-breaking research to better understand oral and dental health and improve the lives of patients as a result.”
And Ewan Forsyth, development director for BaS LIFT, which oversaw the work, said: “This is a fantastic example of how the public and private sector, working together, can deliver cutting-edge healthcare facilities for the city.
“This landmark building provides a modern, state-of-the-art environment and can only strengthen Birmingham’s credentials as a centre of medical and dental excellence.”
The development marks the first building to be completed as part of the regeneration of Pebble Mill and sets a high standard for future redevelopment on the 27-acre site.
The four-storey development is the first integrated, stand-alone dental hospital and dental school to be built in the UK for almost 40 years. It expects to treat more than 100,000 patients each year.
It houses a range of services for the public including unscheduled emergency dental care, restorative dentistry, oral surgery, oral medicine, orthodontics and paediatric dentistry.
The public will access all dental services in one wing of the building, while a second wing provides the University of Birmingham’s School of Dentistry with world-class research facilities and a modern learning environment for more than 600 undergraduate and postgraduate students and trainees.
The building was designed by One Creative Environments and constructed by Galliford Try.
Featured companies
- Companies:
- One Creative Environments
- Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust
- Birmingham and Solihull (BaS) LIFT Co