NATIONAL URGENT AND EMERGENCY DENTAL CARE REVIEW (ENGLAND)

Abstract

NHS Urgent and Emergency Care Services in England are experiencing rising demand. Patients with dental symptoms sometimes utilise these services when they would be better treated by a dental service. The variation in service provision needs to be better understood and was considered as part of the review of unscheduled dental services in England. To address the problemtwo stakeholder events were held, between November 2015 and February 2016, for those involved in the delivery or commissioning of Unscheduled Dental Care Services (UDCS) across England.

Aim: Their aim was to seek views on the barriers and challenges they perceived in either providing or commissioning these services and to share good practice.

Methods: Workshop themes were developed ,based on an initial audit of dental services combined with feedback from service commissioners. This information was used to formulate questions for the events. Workshop answers were analysed for key themes. These were then used to create a more detailed question guide that enabled researchers to explore these themes in more detail. After both events, all feedback from delegates was assessed, to identify factors that should be included in a review of UDCS across England.

Results: Approximately 200 stakeholders from the full spectrum of UDCS, from providers to commissioners, attended and identified a number of key barriers faced in delivering UDCS. These included: inconsistency in provision; inadequate information sharing; suboptimal communication between providers and commissioners (and across geographical areas) and insufficient time to provide good quality care in the time allocated. Many delegates felt that current provision in their areas was failing to meet the needs of vulnerable groups such as special care patients and care home residents.

Conclusions: Stakeholders strongly felt that national standards and guidance in providing/commissioning UDCS will facilitate more consistent provision across England. This should also mean that services will be more accessible to all patient groups, regardless of geography, therefore aiming to reduce inequity in access to UDCS.