How are you finding being a Mouth Care Lead?
Mouth Care Matters resources including a guide for hospital healthcare professionals, the mouth care screening sheet and an oral health needs assessments checklist for care homes can be viewed at: http://www.mouthcarematters.hee.nhs.uk/links-resources/mouth-care-matters-resources/.
So in essence on admission a mouth care risk assessment is carried out by a registered nurse and will lead onto a bespoke mouth care plan if required.
Although the Leads are experienced professionals, their role is primarily to train hospital staff in mouth care rather than to provide mouth care themselves.
The Mouth Care Matters programme will also be holding a conference on 7 July 2017 called 'Mouth Care Matters - can you afford not to?' This is designed to teach delegates about the underpinning reasons for the Mouth Care Matters programme and encourage other trusts to support Mouth Care Leads in their hospitals.
Strong sales growth for food safety, bandages, and mouth care lifted the results.
The Mouth Care Matters initiative provides training to nursing staff, doctors and allied health care professionals so that patients admitted for more than 24 hours receive good mouth care during their stay at East Surrey Hospital.
Today, 12 hospital trusts in the region have Mouth Care Leads - dental nurses, general nurses and speech and language therapists - who are training hospital staff in mouth care and helping to maintain the health and dignity of numerous patients.
The principles are that when a patient is admitted to hospital they are fully supported to carry out mouth care.
As part of the initiative, a mouth care screening sheet (pictured) is completed for all patients 24 hours after admission.
HEE secured further funding so that a further 12 trusts could fund a mouth care lead for 12 months.
