Chairman
Philip Gowers
(Chairman, Executive Media Spokesman, Coach/Mentor, PASS DGM Chair) 2021
Philip Gowers trained at UMDS (London) and qualified in 1990. He worked part time in Bow and part time as a clinical lecturer and BDS examiner at Guys Hospital under Professor Challacombe in Oral Medicine and Oral pathology until 1999. Philip then moved to Southsea in 1993 and became an associate then partner by 1997. Unfortunately Philip’s business partner died and so he became the owner of a four surgery practice then. Around this time Philip became interested in dental politics.
Philip became a member of Hampshire LDC ,then chair of Portsmouth and SE Hants LDC. In this role he attended conference, passing motions to change things at a national level. During this period he also became VT trainer for eight young dentists and continued to work as a GDP full time.
Philip achieved a PGCE at the University of Winchester and become a DPA (contracts). In 2013 Philip achieved the role of advanced coach mentor for the Wessex and Oxford Deanery.
Most recently Philip sold his practice to one of his trainees and was appointed Chair of the Hampshire and IOW Local Dental Committee which was a particular honour to accept.
Philip finally became chair of PASS ( Practitioner Advice and Support Scheme) for Hampshire and IOW LDC as well as PVLE Assessor for Oxford and Wessex Deanery and a Research Champion for NIHR ( National Institute for Health Research).
Vice Chair
Jessica Patel-Barnes trained at Manchester and qualified in 2006. She moved down to the South Coast of England to do her Vocational Training and fell in love with the area, since she has spent all 18 plus years of her practice working in Hampshire. In 2014, Jessica became a member of Hampshire and Isle of Wight LDC where an interest in dental politics developed alongside building relationships amongst like minded peers within the wider area.
During her career, Jessica became a mentor for various overseas clinicians where she supported and guided them as they began their journey of learning NHS rules and regulations, developing PDPs, learning how to do reflective logs and complete audit cycles in accordance with their agreement for inclusion on NHS England performers list.
In 2014, Jessica became a Clinical Dental Advisor for the {my}dentist group where she continues to support some 100 or so clinicians across 16 sites with practice performance within clinical quality metrics, audit cycles and personal clinical and personal development.
Jessica continues to practice as an associate alongside her Clinical Dental Advisor Role in Gosport where she is now a well-established General Dental Practitioner of over 10 years. Gosport is a mixed practice where family oriented general dental practice is the focus and Jessica continues to pursue her interest in aligners and integration of digital workflows into practice as she thrives to develop and support other like-minded clinicians.
Honorary Secretary
Keith Percival
(Appointed Secretary, Executive, Wessex GDPC Rep, Coach/Mentor, DSP PAG/PLDP, Appraiser, Chair BDG, BDA Wessex Branch English and UK Council member, MCN member, LDN Core Member, BSAD Member, BDAGS Treasurer 2021, FTSUG, PASS DG Member Secretary)
Graduated BDS from Birmingham University in 1971 and worked as an NHS Associate in the West Midlands and Gosport until 1974 whereupon he went into a two man partnership in a Gosport NHS practice which later developed into a mixed private/NHS practice providing almost all aspects of primary care clinical dentistry including orthodontics (BOULD University of Bristol and Clinical Assistant Queen Alexandra Hospital Portsmouth 1993 to 1995). Achieved the MGDS RCS in 1988 after 3 years postgraduate education and completed the FFGDP(UK) in 2010.
Enjoys a special interest in postgraduate career education and GDP career support – trained FT by Equivalence Assessor, Clinical Audit/Peer Review Facilitator and past occaisonal Chair Dorset CA/PR Local Assessment Panel, Deanery trained and accredited Appraiser, Coach/Mentor and Mentor for Dentists in Difficulty (WISDOM).
Current Honorary Secretary of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Local Dental Committee (H&IOW LDC) and Chairman of the British Dental Guild. Past Honorary Treasurer of the H&IOW LDC and current Treasurer and past Captain of the BDA Golf Society.
Past President of Wessex BDA Branch Council (2009/10) and current Branch member. Current BDA English and UK Council Representative for Wessex Branch. GDSC Representative for Wessex from 2000 until 2003 and GDPC Representative for the Wessex region from 2004 until the present (1 of 3 Reps). NHSE trained Discipline Specific Practitioner on PAG and PLDP performance panels.
Treasurer
Claudia qualified in 1981 from Liverpool University Dental School and followed this with a three-year short service commission in the Royal Army Dental Corps. Subsequently, she joined an NHS general practice in Winchester as an associate practitioner and was the senior dental associate in a large mixed NHS practice for thirty years.
In 2011 she was invited to become a member of the National Steering Group for Dental Contract Reform and in October 2012 she was selected and completed the Oxford Deanery Dental Leadership Development Programme for Local Professional Networks.
In 2013 she became the Treasurer of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight LDC and in 2018 she qualified as a Coach Mentor.
She is an experienced Discipline Specific Practitioner for NHSE Perfomance Advisory Groups and Performer List Decision panels and has also acted as a locum clinical advisor for NHSE South West.
She has helped develop and set up Hampshire and Isle of Wight Local Dental Committee Performer Advice Support Scheme which supports and advises registrants who run into performance difficulties.
She is married and has two grown up children.
LDC Administrator, PA to the Honorary Secretary and Tresurer, Website Manager
Emily Vidovic
Emily obtained a BA (Hons) Degree in three-dimensional design at The University for the Creative Arts in 2009 and then obtained a Master’s Degree at the University of Portsmouth in Fine Art in 2011.
Since 2014, Emily has worked as the Honorary Secretary’s PA and as the LDC Administrator which includes administrative support to the Treasurer. Specifically, Emily has also managed, recorded and communicated many core aspects of the Deanery’s Appraisal Scheme (financial), H&IOW LDC/NHS England’s Capital Funding Schemes, the joint LDCs’ meetings and the LDC’s CPD events.
Emily is the main administrator for the Hampshire and IOW PASS scheme managing invoices and general administration.
Emily took over the role as the Hampshire and Isle of Wight LDC’s Website Manager in 2015 and has been responsible (in part) for its design and development.
Emily has recently designed, developed and now manages The British Dental Guild Website.
Committee Members
Nick Forster: 2023 Executive, GDPC Rep (Wessex), Chair Wessex LDN
Caroline Short: Minute Secretary
Caroline Frolander: 2023 Clinical Director Solent NHSFT and Salaried Services/Special Care Rep, Chair Special Care MCN, GDC Specialist List 2023
Nerina Hendrickse: 2023 BDA Wessex Branch Secretary / Southampton Section Secretary/ Rep & Coach/Mentor, Appraiser, Relate counsellor, PASS DG Member
Parimal Manek: 2023 Wessex MOS MCN,
Kim Jones: 2025
William Creedon: 2025 Vice-Chairman, Executive, BDA Ben Fund Trustee, PASS DG Member,
Hardev Seehra: 2023
Eva Lewin: 2025,
Jessica Patel -Barnes: 2025, Wessex LDN GDP Rep, PASS
Sham Seehra: 2023
Prawash Sunuwar: 2023
Lloyd Payne: 2023
Patrick Stewart: 2023
Shilpa Chitnis: 2025, PASS DG Member
Janita Dhariwal 2025
Lauren Holmes, 2025