Miss Sumalatha Venugopal

Suma studied dentistry at Kings College London. After qualifying she has working in a number of clinical backgrounds including Secondary care, Primary care, Community services, Urgent dental services and Secondary tier services. She has worked in a range of specialty departments. Suma's most recent role was on the Island of St Helena where she was working as a Dental Officer. This role included providing all dental needs for the whole population of the island along with the SDO. Working on a remote island has proved to be a positive and valuable experience. It has allowed Suma to work under challenging conditions in one of the most remote places in the world, striving to improve the dental health of an entire population. This has therefore allowed for working as not just a face to face clinician but also to change policies, working initiatives and public dental health.

Reason for applying for the scheme

Working in different roles, Suma has worked in different environments within the NHS. The Chief Dental Officer Scheme offers the opportunity to enhance her understanding of healthcare. During the pandemic and in recent years, we have seen how digital transformation of healthcare has been utilised. Working within NHS Digital will allow Suma to recognise how the process of transformation occurs.

Suma hopes this experience will provide personal and professional to improve patient care and health provision.