Cardiovascular disease prevention pilot delivered through Dental practices
NHS North East London ICB has secured funding from the NHS England National CVD Prevention team, working in conjunction with the Office of Chief Dental Officer (OCDO) to identify those patients with hypertension and in areas of high deprivation and ethnic disparities through the implementation of a pilot program delivered through Dental Practices.
The pilot requires dental practices to undertake blood pressure checks for residents of North East London; the focus of which is on case finding at dental practices. Many otherwise healthy people over 40 only visit their GP when they’re feeling unwell, but offering these vital checks as part of routine dentist appointment will allow identification of more patients at risk.
This pilot is also an important step towards delivering community-focused healthcare, helping to shift the focus from treatment to prevention and helping people to live well for longer.
The dental practices who are taking part in the pilot are:
- Dental Surgery, 257c Mare Street, Hackney. London E8 3NS
- Family Dental Practice, 3 Rowallen Parade, Dagenham, Essex RM8 1XU
- Hackney Dental Practice, Ground Floor, Apex House, 2 Sylvester Road, Hackney E8 1E
- Rushdent Limited, Rush Green Dental Practice, 193 Rush Green Road, Romford, RM7 0PX
- I.E Barmania’s Dental Practice, 318 High Road, Leytonstone, E11 3HS
- Thames View Dental Surgery, 1st floor, Health Centre, Bastable, Essex IG11 0LG
- Belmont Dental Practice, Belmont Dental Practice, Ilford IG1 1YN
The pilot is now at mobilisation stage with practices required to set up governance structures and processes, partake in training sessions, engage with local general practices and community pharmacies and procure blood pressure monitoring equipment.
Information about the pilot will be added to the GP portal and the link will be provided in due course.
What this will mean for local GPs and Pharmacies in the immediate area and beyond
The participating dental practices will be asked to identify patients who meet the criteria to offer a BPM check. If the patient agrees a trained member of the practice team will take a BPM reading in accordance with best practice. The reading will be recorded and depending on the outcome the patient will be signposted into the most appropriate local pathway for further investigation.
We would like the participating practices to work with the local GP and Pharmacy networks to agree the most appropriate local pathway. However, it is expected that most patients with an at-risk reading will initially be signposted to the local pharmacy for further testing before seeing their GP. In some cases, a patient may be asked to see their GP or go to a hospital. The pilot will not result in extra work for GPs and may provide pharmacies with the opportunity to generate new income.
Dental practices do not have catchment areas, and their patients may live in other areas and be registered with a GP in that area. We will be providing guidance on how this can be managed in NEL and beyond.
Next Steps
NHS NEL ICB will be hosting a kick-off event for the dental pilot practices. This will be an evening event. To facilitate the development of the pilot and closer working across the local Primary Care Services we will be extending the invitation to PCNs, GP practices and pharmacies. The webinar will be focusing on:
- Providing an overview of the pilot and what is intended to be tested locally and nationally.
- Discussing the referral pathways; for those patients identified with potential hypertension including GP referral, signposting to community services and where appropriate A&E;
- The evaluation, including how we can use the extended case finding to improve health outcomes for the population in NEL
Further information about the webinar will be cascaded when the logistics have been confirmed.
If you require any further information regarding the pilot, please email: nelondonicb.pcdevelopment@nhs.net