Oxfordshire watchdog calls for urgent improvements in care home dental services
A health watchdog based in Oxfordshire has called for urgent improvements in care home dental services.
Healthwatch Oxfordshire claims that a new survey has revealed that a substantial number of residents in the county’s 138 care homes are not receiving the dental care they require, with many residents not visiting dentists at all. The watchdog has labelled the situation “unacceptable.”
A poll carried out earlier this year revealed that residents in care homes face many barriers to dental care, including a lack of dentists willing to visit care homes, transport issues, which make it difficult for patients to get to appointments, and a lack of understanding of issues that affect older people, such as dementia, within the dental profession.
Rosalind Pearce, executive director of Healthwatch Oxfordshire, said that the survey findings demonstrate that a high number of care home residents don’t see a dentist on a regular basis. The organisation sent out questionnaires to all 138 homes in the county, but just 26 responded.
The findings revealed that staff have trouble arranging dental appointments, especially for patients who have complex needs, such as dementia, and patients find it difficult to maintain links with dentists they have visited in the past.
In light of the survey findings, Healthwatch Oxfordshire has called for greater investment in care home dental care and changes to the system, which would benefit patients living in care homes.
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