​The General Dental Council has announced the appointment of Baron Harris of Haringey (Lord Toby Harris) who will join the GDC as chair of council, and Angie Heilmann MBE, who joins as a registrant council member.

Both will take up their new posts on October 1, 2021, when the current chair Dr William Moyes and council member Catherine Brady leave office at the end of September.

Angie Heilmann MBE (previously McBain) is a registered dental nurse who has had a long clinical and academic career, firstly in Scotland before moving to England in 1986. Angie qualified as a dental nurse in 1989 and went on to achieve NEBDN qualifications in dental sedation nursing (with distinction) and worked in clinical practice until 2007 before focusing solely on dental nurse tutoring.

Angie has held a number of educational and tutoring positions since then, most recently as the dental workforce development regional advisor for Health Education England (East) until 2020 and is currently the director of dental nurse education at Cambridge Dental Nurse Academy, the dental nurse arm of Antwerp Dental Academy. Previously, she was part of the team that introduced foundation degrees in dental nursing at the University of Bedfordshire.

Angie has held a number of non-executive positions, including president of the British Association of Dental Nurses and chair of the Local Dental Education Committee at Luton and Dunstable Hospital. She is the only dental nurse to have sat on the Council of the Society for the Advancement of Anaesthesia in Dentistry (SAAD). She holds a master’s in medical education from the University of Bedfordshire and was awarded an MBE for services to dental nursing in 2012.

On her appointment Angie said, “As a registered dental nurse, having worked in dentistry for over 30 years I am thrilled to be joining the GDC as a registrant member of council. I look forward to working with my council colleagues and contributing to making the journey better for both patients and professionals.”

Both Lord Toby Harris and Angie Heilmann start their new roles on October 1, 2021.

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