Heartbeat: Mouth care pilot leads to magic in every smile

April 30, 2020

Patients across four wards at City and Sandwell hospitals have been all smiles during the pilot of a new campaign to improve the oral health of inpatients.

In January colleagues working on D11 D26, Priory 4 and Newton 4 started the Mouth Care Matters trial. This involved them receiving specific training and equipment to carry out effective mouth care on patients.

Colleagues have been ensuring that every patient cleans their teeth/dentures at least twice a day and those with complex mouth care needs are assisted with more frequent care.

Heartbeat caught up with Julie Thompson, Director of Nursing, Medicine and Emergency Care who told us more.

“Mouth Care Matters is a guide seeking to improve the oral health of inpatients. Poor oral health of a hospitalised patient can result in an increase in hospital-acquired infections, namely hospital and ventilator acquired pneumonia, as well as poorer nutrition. This can result in an increase in the length of stay and care costs, alongside poorer quality of life and dignity for patients.

“This pilot focuses on reducing the rates of hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP). Evidence shows a clear link between a good individualised mouth care regime and the reduction in the development of HAP.”Colleagues have welcomed and supported the trial. Practice Development Nurse, Grace Omoleye told Heartbeat: “It’s important for patients to feel whole and to not feel uncomfortable about their mouths when visitors come.

“The products that we use keep the mouth and gums moist so prevent sores and infections. I really like the lip gloss for that reason. Some patients need to have their teeth cleaned whilst using the suctioning tool. This is so good because you use one tool that brushes, cleans and suctions the debris away at the same time.”

Grace continued, “The products are single-use only and are specially packaged so they can stay by the patient’s bedside and not a risk from an infection prevention perspective. It means that they are easily to hand when you need to perform mouth care as part of the patient’s routine. Mouth care really does matter for our patients and we should all be helping them to have healthy mouths.”

Since the project started, visitors have commented on the improvement of their loved ones mouth condition. One family member (a dentist) explained how his mother had a stark contrast of attitude towards mouth care while she had been in hospital on two different occasions. He said,

“My mother was admitted to a different hospital a few years ago. A few days after she was admitted, I noticed that her teeth had not been cleaned and the condition of her mouth had deteriorated significantly. Despite raising these concerns with staff, I had to buy several oral products and come into the hospital twice a day to clean her teeth and mouth.

“I was shocked that mouth care was not automatic and didn’t form part of a daily general hygiene routine. Mouth care is important because if my mum has poor oral care then she won’t be able to eat well and then can’t get well.

“The first thing I noticed when mum was admitted to Priory 4 was the mouth care posters promoting the use of the products with an appropriate care plan. I felt confident that my mum would receive a good level of care as a result.”

The results from HAP and other data will be analysed during April and recommendations and learnings will be shared with the executive team. The plan is to roll out the programme across the organisation.