Today, CQC published its latest report on oral care health in care homes.
Their findings reflect what people have been telling Healthwatch, including the problems people face in accessing dentists.
Take a look at reports on what people told us about dentistry (2016), care homes (2017) and the areas we wanted the NHS to focus on (2018).
Key findings from CQC
- People who live in care homes do not always get the support they need to maintain good oral health.
- 52% of care homes have no policy in place to support resident’s oral health. This could mean care home staff are not aware of the need to support people with daily mouth care, like brushing their teeth.
- Many residents are not able to access oral health products like toothbrushes as care homes would not provide them, as they are seen as a cosmetic product, not a health care one.
- One third of care homes said they had had difficulty accessing routine NHS dentistry services. Some managers reported that domiciliary dentists refused to visit care homes.
CQC’s recommendations:
- More oral health care training for care workers
- A national campaign to raise awareness of good practice/NICE guidance
For CQC inspectors to work with local Healthwatch to identify and understand the issue in their area