Closing the gap: research for improvement
Over 70 delegates from all over Scotland attended the latest SDPBRN symposium in Dundee’s West Park Centre on 10 June 2014, which had Quality Improvement as its theme.
Tom Ferris, Deputy Chief Dental Officer, opened the event giving an overview of quality improvement in dentistry. Neil Houston, National Clinical Lead for the Scottish Patient Safety in Primary Care Programme, described the programme’s development and application to all GP practices across Scotland.
Irene Black and Paul Bowie looked at planning for patient safety in dentistry, and how a dental-specific safety climate survey was being developed. Irene is NHS Education for Scotland’s (NES) Lead for Patient Safety in Dentistry. Paul is Programme Director for Patient Safety & Quality Improvement (NES). Steve Turner of SDPBRN and Edinburgh Dental Institute, presented research on the new arrangements for direct patient access for DCPs, including concerns about quality of care. Richard Macey from Manchester Dental School described his research on team-working, while SDPBRN’s Linda Young talked about developments in clinical audit and its relationship with research investigating healthcare quality.
The programme was completed with short presentations from GDPs, a regular aspect of these symposia, and by a lively Q&A session before Jan Clarkson closed proceedings thanking all for their attendance and that she looked forward to seeing them next year.