New approaches improve access to dental care
As NHS dental waiting lists continue to grow, the Salaried Primary Care Dental Services (SPCDS) team at Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust are stepping up to meet the challenge at St James Dental Clinic in Northampton.
The clinic is pioneering new approaches to deliver faster, more inclusive care for patients with complex needs. NHFT's SPCDS team supports both adults and children who struggle to access dental treatment in a general dental service.
This includes people with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, complex health problems or special care needs, and difficulties can include communicating pain, making informed decisions and even attending appointments. The SPCDS team offers a mix of expert skills, training and equipment to help overcome these barriers.
At St James Dental Clinic, patients receive tailored care including fillings, extractions, gum treatments, sedation, behavioural support and home visiting, where needed. The clinic is helping reduce delays by offering multi-disciplinary teams, targeted oral-health
promotion and streamlined referral pathways that mean fewer delays and quicker access for those with complex needs.
The improvements are already starting to have a positive impact on patient experience, with waiting times for assessment and treatment coming down in recent months.
Ken Binnah, Dental Clinical Team Lead (pictured), said the team's collaborative approach was key to its success.
He said: "The combination of specialist equipment, home-visiting options and close working with partners - including local dentists and Kettering and Northampton General Hospitals - is helping drive down wait times for referrals, especially for children and adults with additional needs."
Building on the success at St James, similar models of care are now being rolled out at specialist dental clinics at Isebrook Hospital in Wellingborough and Willowbrook Health Centre in Corby - making a real difference to people's dental health and ensuring more patients across Northamptonshire receive the care they need, when they need it.
This is all being made possible thanks to the flexibility, commitment and professional dedication of the teams across all sites.