Lee Savarrio, new Dental Director and Postgraduate Dean
We are pleased to announce that Lee Savarrio, BDS, FDS, RCPSG, FDS (Rest Dent) RCPSG, MSc (Med Sci) has been appointed as the new Dental Director and Postgraduate Dean from 1 January 2025.
Lee will be joining NES from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde where he has been employed as Chief of Dentistry and brings a wealth of experience in advancing NES’s vision to support better rights-based quality care and outcomes through a skilled, capable and resilient health and social care workforce.
Lee has held positions in the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, both on the education committee as lead for the Clinical Anatomical Simulation Centre, as well as Director of Membership Services. He has also served on the Specialty Training Committee and Specialist Advisory Committee for restorative dentistry and is the current Chair of the Strategic Board for Glasgow Caledonian University's dental therapy programme.
Following a handover period, Lee will take over from the current post holder Professor David Felix who is retiring in April 2025.
NES’s Chair, David Garbutt said:
“On behalf of NHS Education for Scotland, I am delighted to welcome Lee Savarrio as our new Dental Director, effective from 1st January 2025.
“Lee's extensive background in dentistry and his leadership at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde will be instrumental as we continue to pursue our mission of enhancing the quality of care through a skilled and empowered health and social care workforce. His expertise and commitment to excellence align perfectly with our core values, and I am confident that he will make significant contributions to our goals.
“We look forward to the fresh perspective and innovative ideas that Lee will bring to NES. Please join me in extending a warm welcome to Lee Savarrio as he steps into this pivotal role.”
NES’s Chief Executive Karen Reid said:
“NES is integral to improving health and care outcomes for people in Scotland and in ensuring a skilled and capable workforce underpins the design and delivery of services and improved population health. The Dental Director plays a key role in helping deliver the organisation’s strategy, ensuring staff are motivated, supported and developed in the delivery of key strategic outcomes.
“I look forward to working with Lee in his new national leadership role as he focuses on the strategic direction, development and delivery of postgraduate dental education and training for the dental workforce in NHS Scotland.”
Lee Savarrio, forthcoming Dental Director and Postgraduate Dean said:
“I am thrilled to have been appointed as the new Dental Director and Postgraduate Dean at NES, a leading organisation for the training, education, and workforce development of the health and social care workforce. In this new role, I will focus on advancing the mission to support quality care and outcomes in dentistry for the people of Scotland through a skilled, capable and resilient workforce.
“I commit to continue fostering and growing the partnerships that the Dental Directorate already has with our key stakeholders internally and externally without whom success would be impossible.
“In the fast-changing landscape of healthcare provision and, in particular, teaching and training, I will strive to make sure the resources available to us are directed to initiatives that are most impactful and to areas of greatest need.”
The Dental Director is responsible for leading on developing a national strategic direction for the education and training of the postgraduate dental and the broader workforce in Scotland (fully aligned with national developments) and contributing to the delivery of Scottish Government policy and NHS Board workforce plans.
September, 23 2024