Agenda item

Children and Young People's Oral Health in Barnet

Minutes:

The Chairman invited to the table:

 

·       Councillor Helena Hart – Chairman, Barnet Health and Wellbeing Board

·       Natalia Clifford - Consultant in Public Health

·       SelinaRodrigues - Manager, Healthwatch Barnet

 

Councillor Hart introduced the report which provided information on the oral health of children and young people in Banet and which also outlined opportunities to decrease rates of decay in children.  Councillor Hart informed the Committee that the report highlighted two key issues, which were prevention and treatment.

 

Councillor Hart informed the Committee that NHS Practices rarely recall patients in order to monitor their dental health as Practices would need to have a sufficient number of unused Units of Dental Activity (UDAs) available to do so.  She highlighted the importance of dental ill-health in being an indicator in safeguarding matters. She regretted that patients no longer register with an individual Practice but present for treatment wherever they can find a Practice willing to treat them.  This could lead to the loss of the background knowledge so necessary for good safeguarding.  Councillor Hart expressed concern that sufficient UDAs are not uniformly available across the Borough. 

 

Referring to the Report, Councillor Hart noted the “Starting Well: A Smile4Life” programme initiated by NHS England to reduce oral health inequalities and improve oral health.  NHS England (London Region) would also be working with Public Health England to identify five Boroughs to promote dental access.  Councillor Hart suggested that the Committee work with the Council’s Public Health department to assist in the Borough being chosen as one of the five pilot Boroughs.  Members of the Committee expressed their support for Barnet putting itself forward as a pilot Borough. 

 

Ms. Rodrigues welcomed the report and advised that Healthwatch Barnet would be very happy to support any such work.  She informed the Committee that mystery shopping had shown that it was very hard for patients to get an NHS dental appointment within two weeks.  She advised that this also created a barrier for parents with one year old children. 

 

Ms. Clifford informed the Committee that one of the challenges facing dental care is that level of UDAs had not been increased for many years despite the significant increase in the population. 

 

The Chairman noted that NHS England confirmed that Barnet utilised 98.5% of their UDAs and so utilisation is not an issue in Barnet.  Councillor Hart advised that one of the problems is that there is no mechanism to move unused UDAs between Practices. 

 

A Member asked if it would be possible to write to NHS England to request a change in the policy so that unused UDAs can be transferred between Practices. 

 

A Member suggested ensuring that Children’s Centres and Health Visitors are informing pregnant and new mothers of their entitlement to free NHS Dental care. 

 

Responding to a question from a Member, Ms. Clifford noted that the requirements for the pilot included a need within the Borough, buy-in, and leadership and that Barnet had all three.  She informed the Committee that it would cost £59,000 to fund the service and that, subject to receiving approval from Policy and Resources Committee on 5 December, it could be funded. 

 

A Member suggested that Public Health should consider the possibility of commissioning mobile dental units to go into schools and learning centres.  She informed the Committee that a dental bus programme was sponsored by Colgate in California where a bus went to schools. 

 

A Member expressed concern about the impact of sugary drinks being sold in schools on young people’s dental health. 

 

The Chairman suggested that the Barnet Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee write to NHS England in order to:

 

1.     Welcome the fact that five Boroughs will be chosen as Pilot Boroughs and put the case for Barnet to be one of them.

2.     Suggest that NHS England consider the impact of population change on the level of UDAs and suggest that, in addition to the number being increased, they should consider allowing unused UDAs to be transferred between Practices.

A Member suggested that the letter should focus on supporting the bid that Barnet would make, as well as stressing the multidisciplinary work that had been done and the deep dive.

 

The Chairman suggested that Ms. Clifford draft a letter in collaboration with Ms. Rodrigues and Councillor Hart and that, once it is drafted, Governance circulate the letter to the Committee to review before it is sent.

 

RESOLVED that the Committee noted the report and provided its instructions as set out above.

 

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