Your NHS dentistry and oral health update

21 October 2022 (Issue 53)

An update from Sara Hurley and Lisa Ritchie

Dear colleague,

Infection, Prevention and Control (IPC) remain priorities for all of us, protecting both patients and staff.  Anticipating winter pressures and an increase in respiratory infections, practices should be regularly reviewing their risk assessments and re-evaluating the risk management measures currently in place.  Your regional IPC leads and local dental public health team remain available for advice regarding the hierarchy of controls, any changes in community-based risks and bespoke assistance to implement the online IPC guidance in your practice.

There is a wealth of online IPC guidance from the various professional bodies, however the National Infection Prevention and Control manual (NIPCM) remains your key reference.  This evidence-based practice manual applies to all NHS healthcare settings. The manual also includes a dental framework designed to support practices in identifying hazards and risks, with examples of measures and approaches for managing risks, in a primary care dental practice environment.

Alongside the NIPCM, many colleagues are also aware of the National Standards of Healthcare Cleanliness 2021. This document provides clear advice and guidance on what cleaning is required, and how it should be done. It also describes a way of demonstrating that cleaning services (be they provided through commercial contract or in-house) meet these standards. Whilst the cleaning standards are common to all NHS healthcare settings, NHSE have confirmed that the specified recording requirements for  ‘technical’ cleanliness and the efficacy of the cleaning process are currently only applicable in healthcare environments providing services under the NHS Standard Contract i.e. for all contracts for healthcare services other than primary care. We can confirm the GDS and PDS contract-holding dental practices will not be required to complete the various templates outlined in the document.  However, the guidance on cleaning  requirements and how it should be done sets a benchmark for quality to which all should aspire.

Practices should continue to demonstrate IPC and cleanliness compliance with the existing templates for cleaning schedules, training logs and audits and have them available for both the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and NHS IPC inspection teams.

Aligned with the update from NHS England regarding cleanliness documentation, we are pleased to note that the CQC has published Dental mythbuster 38: Infection prevention and control. This timely update reflects the CQC’s approach to general medical practice and confirms that the CQC have “no expectation relating to star ratings or logos in dental practices”.

We hope these updates help you and your practice to commence preparations for winter, and lay to rest concerns held by the profession and their teams with regards to infection prevention and control guidance.

With best wishes,

Sara and Lisa

Reducing Violence Against Staff Assets

We know the damaging impact that violence, abuse, and harassment can have on people’s health and wellbeing, affecting both mental and physical health. Public-facing assets are available to download from the Campaign Resource Centre, featuring NHS staff working in a range of different NHS settings, including general practice, pharmacy, optometry and dentistry, carrying the message ‘We are here to help you. Thank you for treating us with respect’.

They have been produced with staff, stakeholders, and patient groups to support NHS teams to reduce abuse and violence against staff.

This includes posters featuring groups of NHS staff and individuals, social media graphics, digital screen graphics for waiting rooms or staff room screens, and a poster template is also available for download that can be used to feature photography of teams, or individual members of staff. I have also attached a communications toolkit with more information.

We’d like to know how these materials are/will be used so that we can determine their effectiveness. Please email england.pccomms@nhs.net with any feedback.

The NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme (CEP) is now open to application for cohort 7!

Are you an innovator in the NHS? Do you have an idea you wish to develop and scale for patient benefit? The NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme might be for you!

 The NHS Clinical Entrepreneur programme is now open to applications for cohort 7!

 Budding entrepreneurs can apply for this ground-breaking programme that is helping bring innovations into the NHS and improve patient care.

 The NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme, delivered by Anglia Ruskin University and part of the Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC),is the biggest entrepreneurial workforce development programme of its kind. Open to all NHS staff – both clinical and non-clinical, the programme aims to provide the commercial skills, knowledge and experience needed to successfully develop and spread innovative solutions to the challenges facing the NHS, while retaining staff.

 The programme is free, lasts 12 months, and consists of:

·       Mentoring

·       Pitstops

·       Webinars

·       Business planning session

·       Networking

·       CPD Accredited learning

·       Invites to events and conferences

 Applications close 30^th October 2022, with cohort 7 starting February 2023. Visit www.nhscep.com/apply-now for morning information

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Recent dentistry and oral health bulletins 

Previous bulletins can be accessed by clicking on the links below:

Special focus bulletins 

Chief Dental Officer Sara Hurley and the NHS team regularly produce 'special focus bulletins' on clinical priorities and key aspects of patient care. These bulletins summarise the key information dental teams need to know and act as a refresher, combining best practice, expert opinion and useful resources. If you would like to suggest a topic for a future special focus bulletin please email the CDO's team at England.CDOExecutive@nhs.net 

NHS primary care bulletin

The NHS primary care bulletin provides resources on health policy and practice and we encourage you to sign up for this, too. It is aimed at teams across general practice, dentistry, community pharmacy and optometry. 

Key advice, guidance and resources for NHS dental teams

NHS updates to the profession 

Key letters from the Chief Dental Officer and the NHS dentistry and oral health team are online here. 

Infection prevention control (IPC) 

NHS practices should refer to the NHS England Infection Prevention and Control Manual which details the principles NHS dental practices should now follow to deliver care. The accompanying dental framework identifies hazards and risks with guidance on measures that should be maintained as we move to new, improved and safer ways of working. 

Dental recall priorities for children: implementation tool

Children are a clinical priority group for all NHS dental teams. Practices are encouraged to use the NHS implementation tool which assists dental professionals in the recall of children for a dental appointment, in line with NICE guidelines. You can view the tool online.

Avoidance of doubt note: provision of phased treatments

This document is to support dental professionals, and to clarify where it might be appropriate to provide phased treatment spanning over several courses of treatment (CoT). You can read it online here.

Health and wellbeing support