In a pioneering initiative Alexandria Blain, Practice Manager, Hope Campbell, Practice Coordinator, and Katey Shaw, Lead Receptionist, have been working to bridge the gap between dental and residential care by partnering with a local Bupa Care Home, Brookview in Alderley Edge.
Feeling inspired
Before joining Bupa Dental Care, Hope spent nine years working in care homes. “When I was working in care homes, we had regular visits from doctors, but no one addressed dental care,” said Hope. “As a carer, the training I got for oral hygiene was very simple, it was brushed teeth and dentures, but that was it. I know I would have really appreciated having someone from a dental background talk me through the importance of dental care and how to help my residents and patients and make them feel more comfortable.”
Hope joining Bupa Dental Care made her think about the lack of dental provision for residents in care homes. Knowing that Bupa operated in both the Dental and Care sector, she thought it would “just make sense” to have a connected point between dental practices and care homes. “I would just be nice for the whole package for a person if you’re looking after them, to make sure we’re looking after every aspect of the person,” said Hope.
As a practice, one of the things that the team at Bramhall are passionate about is the community. Back in December 2023, the team had a meeting and asked themselves what they could do to support the local community. “We decided to see if we could get into a care home and kind of build that community aspect”, said Alexandria.
Working in reception, Katey has a genuine passion for people and a soft spot for the older generation, admitting that she’s “like a little old woman in a young woman’s body”. She loved the idea of a “knit and natter” and having the opportunity to go into the care home and chat with the residents.
Getting started
Feeling motivated, the team reached out to Brookview, the local Bupa Care Home based in Alderley Edge, stating that they’d be interested in working in partnership with the Care Services team. “Brookview emailed back pretty quickly and were keen on getting us in to do an oral health talk with the residents,” said Hope.
The team visited Brookview with one of the Bramhall dentists, Charlotte Walsh, for an educational talk with the residents about oral health.
The residents really engaged with the session, with a couple of patients asking questions about “how do they keep their dentures in comfortably”. “I think Charlotte dealt with it all really well being the clinical expert as none of us are in a clinical role. So she led that talk, spoke to a few patients and gave some tips. She’s a really good dentist and tailors to the audience, answering any questions they had in a way that the residents could understand,” commented Alexandria.
The team also chuckled discussing their interactions with the residents, with a couple who “knew everything better than we did” said Hope – “they were talking us through the scales and polishes which was great”
More than just dentistry
More than just the opportunity to promote good oral hygiene and health, the team valued the social aspect and interaction between residents.
“It’s also building relationships outside of the normal daily routine for them” says Katey. “I love this job because of the connection with the patients. The connection is just so important because for some people, that may be the only conversation that they have that week… and they’re so interesting – they’ve got so much to say!”
Katey also emphasised the role of education in encouraging independence, saying: “giving them the independence of being able to look after their oral health is so important.”
What’s next?
“We’re looking at getting two new surgeries put in the practice and that’s going to help because we did speak about bringing the residents out for the day,” says Alexandria. “We were looking to see if we could bring them in for a scale and polish and a check-up. And then Katey can do a bit of knit and natter in the afternoon. We’re also quite fortunate with our practice, we’ve got lovely gardens just outside.”
The team also discussed the potential of taking the practice to the care home and exploring domiciliary care. “We’ve got a good few dentists here that have put their hand up and said that they’ll go into the care homes and look after the patients and the residents,” says Alexandria. “Some of them have been really nice and offered to clear some time to just do it for them to just scale the teeth and stuff and just spend time with them.”
Making Connected Care a reality
Connected Care is a key focus for Bupa, providing joined up healthcare to help deliver better outcomes for our customers and this initiative between Bupa Dental Care and Bupa UK Care Services is a brilliant example of Connected Care in action!
Gemma McCullough, Project Manager for Change & Transformation at Bupa UK Care Services, emphasized the potential for Connected Care, adding, “Mel Goulding and I had a catch-up with Alex and Hope back in July regarding what we could do from a Connected Care perspective. We have been working on a project initially launching the Bupa Smile Plan within our Richmond Villages. The conversations with Alex, Hope, and Paul Darby have been around a pilot for Bupa Care Homes in Cheshire, including Brookview, to launch a domiciliary care package. This would include an oral cancer screen and a basic check-up completed in the comfort of the resident’s home, at a discounted rate as they are already Bupa customers. This enables residents with mobility issues to access essential dental services.”
She continued, “We also discussed transporting residents to the Bramhall Centre for further dental treatment and hosting knit & natter sessions in their beautiful gardens. I had the pleasure of visiting the Bramhall Clinic and meeting the team, who were so welcoming; their enthusiasm to collaborate with Care Services shone through. This is the first partnership of its kind, and we’re excited about the Connected Care journey with the Bupa Dental team.”
Advice for practices considering a similar initiative
When asked what advice the team would give to practices thinking about a similar initiative, they agreed that their advice was to get out and spend a day with the residents. “Go and meet the people that you’d be offering it to, because as you get to know the person and the people it just makes you want to come back and you want them to have that better standard of care,” says Hope.
Claire Pearson, Operations Director at Bupa Dental Care shared: “I am incredibly proud of the team at Bupa Dental Care Bramhall for their outstanding dedication and innovative approach in partnering with Brookview Care Home. Their commitment to bridging dental and residential care through a Connected Care initiative is truly inspiring. By providing essential dental education and services, they are not only enhancing the oral health of residents but also enriching their lives through meaningful interactions and compassionate care. This initiative exemplifies the very best of our values at Bupa Dental Care, showcasing our team’s unwavering passion for community service and excellence in patient care, congratulations to everyone involved.”
