Oral hygiene in care homes across Derbyshire
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Healthwatch Derbyshire is an independent voice for the people of Derbyshire. They are here to listen to the experiences of Derbyshire residents and give them a stronger say in influencing how local health and social care services are provided.
During October, Healthwatch Derbyshire visited a number of care homes across Derbyshire which included homes for older people and those with learning disabilities, to speak with residents/clients and staff around the topic of oral hygiene in a care home setting. Healthwatch Derbyshire were briefed by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on the key questions that would be helpful in contributing to their work, and from this, developed two questionnaires to capture this evidence; one for residents/clients and one for members of care staff. When visiting homes, Healthwatch Derbyshire asked care home managers which residents and staff would be the most suitable to engage with, dependent on roles and levels of capacity to ensure accurate results.
In total, they had participation from 181 residents/clients aged between 21 to 104 years old. This included people living with dementia and those with learning disabilities.
The key findings indicated the majority of residents/clients last visited a dentist over two years ago, mainly due to local dental services not offering visits to the home. The majority or residents/clients were supported by staff with their oral hygiene, whilst the other residents/clients not supported as they felt able to look after their teeth/dentures themselves or chose to either clean them once a day or not at all.
This report contains two recommendations specifically around future partnership working in relation to oral hygiene.