Wales Trainee John Wells has scooped one of the five winning spots in a Wales-wide event, with his proposal to improve patient outcomes and experience.

John and the Maxillofacial team at Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil are celebrating victory in the latest Welsh Health Hack, an opportunity for health and social care workers to share the challenges facing them at work and then pitch and develop a solution.

Now in its fourth year, the Welsh Health Hack 2020 saw 24 teams – involving 130 people and 28 challenges – from across Wales present their idea to the panel and pitch for start-up funding. Five teams were successful, with pitches from Mr Doddi and Mr Wells ensuring our Cwm Taf Health Board led the way.

Talking about his idea, Mr Wells said: “Skin cancer is the most common cancer in Wales and the majority affects the face, head and neck. These tumours and the scars associated with their treatment can have a significant impact on the patient’s quality of life. The outcomes are very measurable; for the surgeon, the measure is whether we have removed all the tumour, while, for the patient, it is the acceptability and impact of the scar.

“Paperwork is time-consuming and prone to error and omissions. In addition, paper systems do not lend themselves to easy analysis. I’ve proposed that we join it all together in one digital system and continually monitor our performance and patient feedback. Such a system will make it much easier for surgeons to reflect on their practice, with all surgeons constantly striving to improve outcomes and experience.”

In addition to the Health Hack funding, the digital workflow has been made possible by investment from Empyrean Digital, a Wales-based IT company developing the project. “Greg and his team from Empyrean are keen to take a chance on our idea and invest their expertise, as they see the benefits for our patients,” added Mr Wells.

“The great thing about the Health Hack is that every organisation involved is contributing something to the success of the project. This turns a modest investment from Welsh Government into a product that will lead to better outcomes and experience for patients and would not be possible without the bringing all of these contributions together.”

Bevan Commission deputy director Sion Charles said: “Against very stiff competition from 24 other teams, Cwm Taf Morgannwg has done really well in this Welsh Health Hack, taking two of the top five places with two very deserving winners.”

The Health Hack was delivered in partnership with AgorIP, Accelerate, Welsh Government, Life Sciences Hub, M-Sparc, Bangor University, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and all health boards in Wales, NWIS and Health Technology Wales.

Welcome to Welsh Hospitals Dental Specialties Conference 

Aneurin Bevan will take the lead for the 2024 Welsh Hospitals Conference and details will be published here as soon as they are available.

This is a popular event with opportunities for networking and a Gala Dinner and will take place on 14 and 15 Mar 2024 at the Vale Resort, Hensol.

Abstracts submission will be available using the link below until 31 January 2024.

Links to the booking form, abstract submission form, Programme and Abstract Book will appear below as they become available and the mailing list will be notified at the same time.

Please see links below for examples of previous presentations, abstracts and prize winners.

14-15 Mar 2024 Aneurin Bevan Meeting: Booking :: Programme and Abstract Book

2023 CwmTaf Meeting: Programme and Abstract Book

2022 North Wales Meeting: Abstract Book

2021 Swansea Bay Meeting: Abstract Book :: Poster Presentations 

2020 Cardiff and Vale Meeting: Abstract Book :: Oral and Poster Presentations 

2019 Aneurin Bevan Meeting: Abstract Book :: Gala Dinner and Prize Giving Photos

2018 CwmTaf Meeting: Abstract Book

Privacy Policy

The maxillofacialsurgery.wales group (We) are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. 

1. Introduction

This Privacy Notice explains the types of personal data we may collect about you when you interact with us. It also explains how we’ll store and handle that data, and importantly, how we’ll keep it safe.

We want you to be fully informed about your rights, and how We use your data.

We hope this Notice will answer any questions you have but if not, please do get in touch with us.

When this Privacy Notice changes we will notify you.

2. What is the maxillofacialsurgery.wales group?

The maxillofacialsurgery.wales is a website resource for those involved or associated with the specialty in Wales. It provides training content, event booking and information for public and professional benefit.

For simplicity throughout this notice, ‘we’ and ‘us' ; refers to the maxillofacialsurgery.wales group.

3. The legal bases we operate on

The law on data protection sets out a number of different reasons for which a company may collect and process your personal data, including:

Consent

In specific situations, we can collect and process your data with your consent. To provide you with the best possible membership experience you can consent to receive email digests to stay up-to-date with what the we are doing on your behalf, or information your peers make available. These are known as ‘contact preferences’ and apply to online communications. We try to give you control over what you receive.

Contractual obligations

There are times when we need your personal data to comply with our legal obligations. For example, if you book an event, we’ll collect your address details to process your card details purchase, and pass them to the event organiser. Because we support those working in the specialty in Wales knowing your GDC/GMC tuber and location is important to validate you and to plan the use of resources.

Legal compliance

If the law requires us to, we may need to collect and process your data. 

Legitimate interest

In specific situations, we require your data to pursue our legitimate interests in a way which might reasonably be expected as part of running the maxillofacialsurgery.wales website which materially impact your rights, freedom or interests. For example, we will use what we know about your career grade or location to plan the best use of limited resources.  We also share information you post on the forum with other members as you might expect. We will NOT use your address details to send you direct marketing information by post. We may tell you about events and courses that we think might interest you via email. 

4. When do we collect your personal data?

* When you book events on the phone, at an event or online.

* When you create an account with us to use specific sections of the websites

* When you engage with us on social media

* When you enter prize draws or competitions

* When you comment on or review our website

* Any individual may access personal data related to them, including opinions or comments that you post on our website.

* When you fill in any forms such as to book an event or apply for membership of our website.

* When you’ve given a third party permission to share with us the information they hold about you, such as when you book an event through a medial devices company.

5. What sort of personal data to we collect?

* Your name, sex, date of birth, billing/delivery address, workplace address, career grade, your GDC/GMC number, email and telephone number, dietary requirements for events and your marketing preferences. For your security, we’ll also keep an encrypted record of your login password.

* Details of your interactions with us through contact, at events, online. 

* We collect notes from our conversations with you, details of any complaints or comments you make, details of purchases you made, items viewed or added to your basket, voucher redemptions, web pages you visit and how and when you contact us

* Details of your visits to our website and the details of the site you came from to ours

* Information gathered by the use of cookies in your web browser with your specific consent.

* We do not store payment card information.

* Your comments and forum posts.

* To deliver the best possible web experience, we collect technical information about your internet connection and browser as well as the country and telephone code where your computer is located, the web pages viewed during your visit, the assets you clicked on, and any search terms you entered.

* Your social media username, if you interact with us through those channels, to help us respond to your comments, questions or feedback.

6. How and why do we use your personal data?

We want to give you the best possible experience with the limited resources we have. One way we intend to achieve that is to get the make best use of our website and the data we have about you. 

We then use this to plan the use of limited resources in support of the specialty and tell you about events and services that are most likely to be relevant to you or interest you. 

The data privacy law allows this as part of our legitimate interest in understanding our members and customers and providing the highest levels of service.

You can change how we use your data. See the ‘What are my rights?’ section below.

If you choose not to share your personal data with us, or refuse certain contact permissions, we might not be able to provide some services. For example, if you chose to opt-out of the email updates you won’t receive the notification of the Welsh Hospitals meeting.

Here’s how we’ll use your personal data and why:

* To process any bookings that you make by using our websites. If we don’t collect your personal data during checkout, we won’t be able to process your order and comply with our legal obligations. For example, your details may need to be passed to a third party event organiser, and we may keep your details for a reasonable period afterwards in order to fulfil any contractual obligations such as refunds and so on.

* To respond to your queries, refund requests and complaints. Handling the information you sent enables us to respond. We may also keep a record of these to inform any future communication with us and to demonstrate how we communicated with you throughout. We do this on the basis of our contractual obligations to you, our legal obligations and our legitimate interests in providing you with the best service and understanding how we can improve our service based on your experience. 

* To protect our business and your account from fraud and other illegal activities. This includes using your personal data to maintain, update and safeguard your account. We’ll also monitor your browsing activity with us to quickly identify and resolve any problems and protect the integrity of our websites. We’ll do all of this as part of our legitimate interest. For example, by checking your password when you login and using automated monitoring of IP addresses to identify possible fraudulent log-ins from unexpected locations.

* To process payments and to prevent fraudulent transactions. We do this on the basis of our legitimate business interests. This also helps to protect our customers from fraud. If we discover any criminal activity or alleged criminal activity through fraud monitoring and suspicious transaction monitoring, we will process this data for the purposes of preventing or detecting unlawful acts. We aim is to protect the individuals we interact with from criminal activities. With your consent, we will use your personal data, preferences and details of your transactions to keep you informed by email about relevant events and services.

You are free to opt out of hearing from us at any time.

* To send you relevant, personalised communications by email in relation to updates, events, services and products. We’ll do this on the basis of our legitimate business interest.

* To process your event attendance requests. Sometimes, we’ll need to share your details with a third party who is providing a service (such as the medical trade who exhibit or the venue for health and safety reasons). We do so to maintain our arrangement with you. Without sharing your personal data, we’d be unable to fulfil your request.

7. Combining your data for personalised direct marketing 

We combine your personal data gathered across the sources as described above, for example your event booking history and your website profile. This ensures we have the most up-to-date data.

8. How we protect your personal data

We know how much data security matters to all our customers. With this in mind we will treat your data with the utmost care and take all appropriate steps to protect it.

We secure access to all transactional areas of our websites and apps using ‘https’ technology.

Access to your personal data is password-protected, and sensitive data (such as payment card information) is secured by SSL encryption.

We regularly update our software to apply security updates for possible vulnerabilities and attacks.

9. How long will we keep your personal data?

Whenever we collect or process your personal data, we’ll only keep it for as long as is necessary for the purpose for which it was collected.

At the end of that retention period, your data will either be deleted completely or anonymised, for example by aggregation with other data so that it can be used in a non-identifiable way for statistical analysis and business planning.

10. Who do we share your personal data with?

We sometimes share your personal data with trusted third parties. 

For example, delivery couriers, exhibitors, partners who provide a membership-based service (like event management companies and venues who organise the Annual Conference), for fraud management and to handle complaints. 

Examples of the kind of third parties we work with are:

* IT companies who support our website and other business systems

* Operational companies such as events companies.

* Data insight companies to ensure your details are up to date and accurate. 

Sharing your data with third parties for their own purposes:

We will only do this in very specific circumstances, for example:

With your consent, given at the time you supply your personal data, we may pass that data to a third party fraud management company. We may share information about fraudulent or potentially fraudulent activity in our premises or systems. This may include sharing data about individuals with law enforcement bodies.

We may also disclose your personal data to the police or other enforcement, regulatory or Government body when we believe such disclosure is appropriate to comply with the law. These requests are assessed on a case-by-case basis and take the privacy of our customers into consideration.

We may, from time to time, expand, reduce or evolve our website and this may involve the transfer of divisions or the whole business to new owners. If this happens, your personal data will, where relevant, be transferred to the new owner or controlling party, under the terms of this Privacy Notice.

For further information please contact our Data Protection Officer - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

11. Where your personal data may be processed

The data that we collect from you (or any third party for whom you are acting) will not be transferred to, or stored at, a destination outside the European Economic Area ("EEA").

12. What are your rights over your personal data?

An overview of your different rights

You have the right to request:

* Access to the personal data we hold about you, free of charge in most cases

* The correction of your personal data when incorrect, out of date or incomplete. For example, when you withdraw consent, or object and we have no legitimate overriding interest, or once the purpose for which we hold the data has come to an end

* That we stop using your personal data for direct marketing (either through specific channels, or all channels)

* That we stop any consent-based processing of your personal data after you withdraw that consent

* Review by a member of staff of any decision made based solely on automatic processing of your data (i.e. where no human has yet reviewed the outcome and criteria for the decision).

You have the right to request a copy of any information about you that the BDA holds at any time, and also to have that information corrected if it is inaccurate. To ask for your information, please contact us by email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  To ask for your information to be amended, please update your online account or email us This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

If we choose not to action your request we will explain to you the reasons for our refusal.

Your right to withdraw consent

Whenever you have given us your consent to use your personal data, you have the right to change your mind at any time and withdraw that consent.

Where we rely on our legitimate interest

In cases where we are processing your personal data on the basis of our legitimate interest, you can ask us to stop for reasons connected to your individual situation. We must then do so unless we believe we have a legitimate overriding reason to continue processing your personal data.

Direct marketing

You have the right to stop the use of your personal data for direct marketing activity through all channels, or selected channels. We must always comply with your request.

Confirming your identity

To protect the confidentiality of your information, we will ask you to verify your identity before proceeding with any request you make under this Privacy Notice, or indeed to draw on your benefits of membership to ensure that we are talking to who we should be talking to. If you have authorised a third party such as your practice manager to submit a request on your behalf, we will ask them to prove they have your permission to act.

13. How can you stop the use of your personal data for direct marketing?

There are several ways you can stop direct marketing communications from us:

* Click the ‘unsubscribe’ link in any email communication that we send you. You will see a webpage where you can manage your marketing mailing preferences

* If you have an account, log in into the maxillofacialsurgery.wales website, visit the ‘My Profile’ area and change your preferences

* In our apps, you can manage your preferences and opt out from one or all of the different push notifications by selecting or deselecting the relevant options in the ‘Settings’ section.

Please note that you may continue to receive communications for a short period after changing your preferences while our systems are fully updated.

14. How our providers use your personal data

When you register to attend the Annual Conference, your membership status will be validated for the purposes of planning the event.

15. Contacting the Regulator

If you feel that your data has not been handled correctly, or you are unhappy with our response to any requests you have made to us regarding the use of your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

You can contact them by calling 0303 123 1113.

Or go online to www.ico.org.uk/concerns 

If you are based outside the UK, you have the right to lodge your complaint with the relevant data protection regulator in your country of residence. 

16. Any questions?

This Privacy Notice has been written to set out the way we handle your personal data and your rights to control it.

If you have any questions you haven’t found the answer to above, please contact our Data Protection Officer who will be pleased to help you:

Email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Morriston Maxillofacial Dental Core Trainees: What it's really like at Morriston Hospital as an OMFS junior doctor/dentist.

Dear future SHO's / Dental Core Trainee's (DCT2/3).

Welcome to this page. We, the 2018-19 cohort of Dental Core trainees (DCT2s and DCT3s) wanted to write a short bit of information for you for what the job actually entails and to give you a flavour of what to expect if you decide to apply for a job here in Swansea.

If you wish to contact one us personally, feel free to drop me an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

I hope you do decide to take the post, you'll learn loads and it's a really worthwhile year, regardless of your dental career aspirations.

Feedback following a year as a maxfax DCT2..

Role: DCT2: No On-call. OMFS only. Morriston Hospital 2018/2019

I took the DCT2 post as a 60% LTFT (part-time) post, coming into the role following my second baby who was 8-months old.

The team were kind. It was a busy job when in theatres and on-call, but you are always well supported by the registrars and consultants, who are lovely. When timetabled to clinic, minor oral surgery or in Princess of Wales, the tempo of the day is much more relaxed.

The year begins with a helpful two-day introduction to the ward course, where you're guided through medical and dental procedures needed for the post. You'll soon figure that nobody expects you to be a maxillofacial surgeon in your capabilites - you are just expected to be safe, sensible and to ask for help. Polish up your anatomy, and ensure your ILS/ALS is up to scratch as any life support skills might come in handy.

The Morriston Consultants were extremely kind and accommodating to all of us- we were able to get what was of personal interest to us and what we needed from this job. Each of us DCT2s had career aspirations of non-maxfax specialities - including Oral Surgery, Orthodontics and Restorative dentistry speciality training, so our timetables were optimised to ensure we could do what was best for our interests. As a DCT2  in max fax/OMFS, I was able to complete lots of day case procedures, LA and sedation minor oral surgery, I had exposure to paediatric oral surgery, complex cysts and third molars and was assisting for major trauma and oncology cases. I gained my full IASCD IV sedation qualification during this post, completed audits, presented posters at national meetings, published papers and completed a silver IQT project - these are easy enough to get done as part of your job here. We were also required to attend journal club and teaching - all of which strengthened our application to STR. My two colleagues also completed PGCerts in Med Ed during the year. And your educational supervisors are excellent and will help you and push you if that's what you want.

All three of us DCT's gained registrar positions in the specialities we wanted to this year at the first attempt. I think this role was really valuable and for us as dentists applying for specialty training and am really glad to have done it for the year. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did. 

Elle