Pioneering mouth care programme being developed at Great Ormond Street Hospital

Nurses, health care assistants and doctors working at the hospital are to be trained by Urshla and GOSH specialist dental nurse, Claire Fletcher, to help implement a pioneering new programme called Mini Mouthcare Matters (Mini MCM).

In future, staff on paediatric wards will integrate dental health into the overall care they offer. For instance, they will ask young patients – or their parents – if they have brought in a toothbrush for their overnight stay and when they last saw a dentist. The programme is funded by Health Education England and GOSH will be working in collaboration with Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and University College London Hospitals with a view to rolling the programme out nationally in 2019.

Urshla, a member of BSPD’s executive committee, aims to empower all healthcare professionals working in hospitals with paediatric wards to incorporate oral health into the care routine.  Mini Mouthcare Matters should be applicable to any hospital with a paediatric in-patient base.