Going to the Dentist - Special Care Dentistry

Healthwatch Dudley was asked by the Special Care Dentistry team that provides services in the Dudley borough to undertake an inquiry to get people’s views and experiences of dental care and treatment. The inquiry comprised of conversations with people using a semi-structured interview guide to gather information on their particular experiences.The intention is to better understand how qualitative investigation and collecting and analysing stories can help to inform the development of Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) and Patient Reported Experience Measures (PREMs) for Special Care Dentistry. And promote the design and development of co-productive and patient-centred services.

28 people were surveyed using structured quantitative survey questions and 5 people gave their story in a semi structured qualitative manner,

The people who participated in the Healthwatch Dudley inquiry into people’s experiences of accessing Special Care Dentistry services indicated they are happy with the care and treatment they receive. In turn, they felt that a welcoming and friendly clinic environment helps them to remain calm and relaxed during a visit.

The following recommendations were made:

Undertake more qualitative inquiry, gathering stories and understanding journeys.

Create new spaces for the co-production of dental servicesand a genuinely patient-centredcare pathway approach.

Review the number of disabled parkingspaces, entrance signageand ambulance transport issues.

Review policy on wheelchairs the size of dentists rooms.

Reflect on what the clinic environment might look like in the future.

There was no response from the provider in this report.