ISSUE 05 // APRIL 2013

In this issue...

FREE

Your Foundation Trust Members’ Magazine

You and Your Care

YOUR NEWS News from across the Trust PAGE 04 YOUR ExpERtS We answer your health questions PAGE 06 YOUR SAY Our Foundation Trust journey PAGE 10

www.bdct.nhs.uk

How our services help children overcome their

fears of the Dentist. PAGE 08

Mummy, I don’t want

to go to the Dentist

Our

Issue

Dental

Health

Welcome to Your HealthWelcome to the Dental Health issue of our members’ magazine.Spring has definitely sprung with lighter nights and daffodils in bloom. There’s even the promise of a little more sunshine, so hopefully we all should have a few more reasons to smile over the coming months...

To keep your smile in tip top condition, we’ve teamed up with our dental specialists for their top tips for good dental health. You’ll find focused advice on page 6 for some of the more complex dental issues our patients have experienced. In Your Story on page 8 we hear from Jodie whose seven year old daughter, Angel, is gradually overcoming a fear of the dentist with our help. This should provide comfort to parents who are struggling to get their little ones into the Dentist’s chair. If you’re interested in learning more, flick to our back page for more details of our next FREE Members’ Health Talk... Mummy I Hate The Dentist (managing children’s dental anxiety). It doesn’t need to be a nerve racking experience – we promise!

It’s important to know that access to our specialist dental services is through referral by a healthcare professional (for example, your regular NHS dentist). So, if you want to find your nearest NHS dental health practice or for more information on routine dental health treatments, visit NHS Choices: www.nhs.uk and enter ‘Dentist’ in the search engine.

As always, we hope you enjoy this edition. Please do drop us a line if you have any comments or ideas for health care topics you would like us to cover in the future. We’ll be back in summer, until then we hope you and your family enjoy spring time!

Jayne Murphy, Editor

Your ContactsEditor Jayne Murphy

Designer Ben Cullimore

Contributors Sam Hirst & Aimee Haggas

produced by Communications Team, Bradford District Care Trust, Victoria Road, Saltaire, BD18 3LD

Email yourhealth@bdct.nhs.uk

Chief Executive Simon Large

Chairman Mike Smith

The editorial deadline for the July edition is 20 May 2013.While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of contents the publisher cannot accept any responsibility for errors or omissions, or from any matter in any way arising from the publication of this material.

When you receive treatment from your dentist on the NHS, you will be asked to pay a charge for the course of treatment you receive. The charge you pay depends on the treatment you need to keep your mouth, gums and teeth healthy. You may be able to get support with all or part of the costs of your NHS dental treatment.

For more information about the work of the Trust please visit: www.bdct.nhs.ukwww.facebook.com/bdct02twitter.com/Bradford_DCT

Welcome // Your Health

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Contentsp04 Your News

p06 Your Experts

p08 Your Story

p10 Your Say

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Your News // Your Health

YourNewsWe always aim to provide the best services for you and your loved ones.

We would like to hear what you think about podiatry services. Come along to one of our events and discover more about the range of foot health services we provide. You’ll find out how you can get involved and help to shape the future of our service.

The events are:DATE: Wednesday 24 April 1.30pm – 3.30pm VENUE: Central Hall, Alice Street, Keighley, BD21 3JD

DATE: Wednesday 15 May 1.30pm – 3.30pm VENUE: Great Victoria Hotel, Bridge Street, Bradford BD1 1JX

Refreshments provided, booking not necessary.

The latest news from across our Trust

Quality AccountThe Trust’s Quality Account sets out our commitment to ongoing improvement in the quality of services that we deliver.We recently held an event to look at the Trust’s quality areas for the coming year; patient experience, safety and effectiveness. Service users, carers and local organisations who we work closely

with, such as Bradford LINk and NHS Bradford and Airedale, were invited to tell us what they think and help decide what our focus for the future should be.

A copy of our new Quality Account will be available on our website and on NHS Choices on 30 June 2013. This will help you understand what we are doing well, where improvements in our service quality are needed and our priorities for the year ahead.

Walk this Way to Better Foot Health

For more information : call 01274 251777 or visit www.bdct.nhs.uk/foothealth for general information about the service we offer.

Your Say on our ServicesWe have signed up to Patient Opinion, an independent feedback platform for health services.

Patient Opinion encourages patients, families and carers to share their story about their experience of our services. People can share their stories either online, telephone or by posting a leaflet to Patient Opinion using a pre-prepaid envelope.

All stories are published anonymously online and we have a commitment to respond to every one we receive. It’s all about us having meaningful and honest conversations with people so we can better understand what people expect and want from us as a Trust.

Shahid Islam, Patient Experience Manager, said: “Patient Opinion is one of the many ways we are gaining an insight into what people think about our services. The whole idea behind it is to understand what we are doing well and make improvements where identified.”

Please share your experiences of our services at www.patientopinion.org.uk or call 0800 122 31 35 (mobiles may pay charges). If you would like a copy of the leaflet please contact Shahid on 01274 228193.

Mouth CancerLook out for the 5 signs of mouth cancer:

Your News // Your Health

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If in doubt, get checked out. Visit your dentist.

A sore throat that lasts longer than three weeks.

Problems chewing or swallowing lasting more than three weeks.

A lump or thickening in the mouth.

Mouth ulcers or sores that take longer than three weeks to heal.

Red, white or speckled patches in the mouth that can’t be wiped off.

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Your Experts // Your Health

Here, we answer your health care questions.

YourExpertsQ. I started smoking nearly 20 years ago and I’m worried about mouth cancer. What signs should I look out for?Joanne, Bingley

A. Mouth cancer can affect any part of the mouth or neck. If you notice any changes you should always contact your dentist or

doctor immediately. If you’re in doubt then get it checked out.

Take a look at page 5 for the signs to look out for.

Regular visits to your dentist will ensure you are professionally screened for signs of mouth cancer.

There are risk factors that can increase the chances of developing mouth cancer. Stopping smoking or chewing tobacco, limiting the amount of alcohol you consume and maintaining a healthy and balanced diet will significantly reduce the risk of developing mouth cancer.

If you would like to stop smoking there’s lots of support available.

You can contact NHS Bradford and Airedale Stop Smoking Service on 01274 202793. Health Trainers offer practical advice to support behaviour change. Contact them on 01274 777527.

You can also call Smokefree National support line: 0800 0224 332 or visit www.smokefree.nhs.uk

Q. My mum is housebound and has toothache how can she get treatment?Shamraiz, Allerton

A. Toothache often starts suddenly and the pain can vary from mild discomfort to severe. It’s important to find out what’s causing your mum to have toothache.

You can contact NHS Direct on 0845 4647 and they will be able to give you advice to reduce pain and discomfort. You can also contact a health care worker, your mum’s doctor or

district nurse for example, and they can make a referral to our Salaried Dental Service.

Once we receive the referral we will contact your mum and ask questions about her condition and the discomfort she is experiencing. This will help us check if a home visit is necessary or if there is any way your mum could attend the clinic. While it should be possible to relieve the toothache, there is a limit to the treatment that we are able to provide in a home setting.

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Our

Issue

Dental

Health

Q. My son has a learning disability and won’t co-operate with our dentist. Some days we can’t even get him to sit in the dentist chair. What can I do?Sam, Ilkley

A. Firstly, well done in bringing your child to the dentist. Don’t be disheartened by him not sitting in the dental chair, it’s still really worthwhile for him to attend the dentist. Often, in time children get used to the environment and can manage to have a check-up without any worries.

Don’t be afraid to ask your dentist for advice on prevention. They can give you tips on eating and brushing which consider any special dietary, behavioural or physical challenges to oral health that your son may have. They may prescribe high fluoride toothpaste to prevent decay or advise on a particular type of brush.

If your child has a need for treatment such as a filling which he cannot manage to let his dentist do, they can refer him to our Salaried Dental Services. We have the expertise and facilities to support children with a range of needs.

Your son may need support from someone who has the experience and patience to work well with children, such as myself, a Specialist Paediatric Dentist. Many of the children with disabilities that I see will have treatment done with behaviour management, this is essentially building up the child’s trust and giving them a gentle introduction to dental procedures.

If your son’s learning disability affects his ability to cope with dental treatment greatly, we may provide his dental treatment with sedation or general anaesthesia.

Check-ups and prevention will remain important and your son’s original dentist is often the one to provide this on an ongoing basis.

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Your Experts // Your Health

Don’t be disheartened by him

not sitting in the dental chair, it’s still

really worthwhile for him to attend the

dentist.

Sinead Enright Senior Dental Officer, Paediatric Special Needs

One in four* of us dreads a visit to the dentist. Children especially can find the experience daunting, so it’s important they are made to feel comfortable with the experience. There are ways to overcome such fears, as mum Jodie found out when she took her seven year old daughter, Angel, to meet one of our specially trained experts.

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Your Story // Your Health

YourStory Sharing your experiences

of our services.

Angel has always been really scared of the dentist and wasn’t coping very well having treatment at her regular dentist. We knew she needed work doing on her baby teeth but when we went to the dentist she would grab at the tools and say she didn’t want anything to happen. It’s not that she’s ever had a bad experience. It’s just that she doesn’t like the scary looking equipment and unusual sights and smells.

Our dentist realised that Angel’s fear was quite advanced and referred us to Sinead, a children’s dentist, who is specially trained to work with children who are really nervous.

Sinead put Angel at ease straight away by welcoming her and letting her know what to expect. She built up Angel’s confidence over a few visits by letting her “ride” in the dentist’s chair, showing

Angel the things she would use and giving her a sticker for being brave. Just by doing simple things like this I saw Angel’s trust grow and she became less frightened by her visits to Sinead.

Over time and only when Angel felt less worried, Sinead explained the treatment she would need. Sinead wanted to do as much as possible while Angel was awake to prevent her being put to sleep but it all depended on Angel’s confidence. We had thought she would need lots of her teeth taking out but Sinead was able to suggest doing fillings and crowns on some teeth.

Because Sinead had been so patient with Angel, Sinead did a filling for her yesterday using her ‘magic wand’ and a crown today both while she was awake, this was done easily with no fuss. I was so proud of Angel she was so brave.

Our

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DentalHealth

Your Story // Your Health

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It didn’t hurt when I had my filling. Sinead used a magic wand to make my tooth sleepy. I was really brave.Angel

Thanks to Sinead’s kind care and attention I have seen a massive difference in the way Angel behaves. I was with her for support the whole way through and if she continues like this Sinead thinks she’ll be brave enough to have her problem teeth removed without having to be put to sleep.

Sinead’s taken each appointment as it comes and never pushed to do anything Angel wasn’t happy with. The idea is that once this work is completed she will have overcome her fears and will be able to attend our regular dentist with the rest of the family. I’m keeping my fingers crossed!

*Statistic from NHS Choices

To find out more about our Salaried Dental Services visit www.bdct.nhs.uk/dental

DentalHealth

The learning from the much publicised ‘Francis Report’ into care provided by Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust will impact on the application timetables for all Trusts hoping to become Foundation Trusts. We have been advised that our own timetable will shift slightly. Previously, we said Monitor (our external assessor) would start to look at our Trust’s application in April 2013. This date is now expected to be closer to June 2013. This means that our expected date for being granted Foundation Trust status will move from October 2013 to later in the year.

Timetable for Foundation Trusts 2

Your Say // Your Health

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Five things you need to know about our Foundation Trust Journey.

YourSay

We received formal feedback following a ‘quality visit’ by the Medical Director and Nursing Director of the NHS Trust Development Authority* who met with some of our front-line teams during January. Overall feedback was extremely positive with only a limited number of areas for improvement.

Quality Visit1

* Full oversight for NHS trusts will move away from Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) to the NHS TDA on 1 April 2013 as part of the new reforms for the NHS.

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Your Say // Your Health

We thought our governor elections would begin in April 2013 but we are now expecting this to happen in the Summer. Despite this delay, we are working hard to plan a number of Governor Awareness events. At the events, you will be able to meet the Board and find out more about the role of a Governor at our Trust.

Our refreshed FT membership strategy includes:

• Updated membership figures• Identification of our members’ interests to inform future membership events• Better use of social media to update members

FT Governor Elections

Foundation Trust Members – Engagement Strategy refreshed

Winner of Prize DrawCongratulations to member Nicholas Smith who recently won our prize draw for the special interest survey, winning £50 of Marks and Spencers vouchers.

We submitted our five year plan to the Department of Health/NHS Trust Development Authority on 1 November 2012. Due to the shifting FT timetable we now will need to ‘roll on’ a year when detailing our five year plan. This will involve additional work from many of our teams and will look at progressing our plans around:

• Patient Experience (learning from the Francis Report)• Detailed Financial plans ( for years 1,2)• Overall direction of later plans ( for years 3,4,5)

Our Five Year Plan

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For more information about the role of a governor contact Stella Jackson on 01274 363552 or email ft@bdct.nhs.uk

I hatethe dentist

Mummy...

Come to our FREE health talk: ‘Managing children’s dental anxieties’

DATE: 18 April 2013 VENUE: Conference Room, New Mill, Victoria Road, Saltaire, BD18 3LD.

Talks start at 1.30pm and finish around 3.00pm also 6.00pm – 7.30pm.

To book or for more information, email: ft@bdct.nhs.uk or call 01274 363552.

You and Your Carewww.bdct.nhs.uk/FT