Improving dental access for people experiencing homelessness in line with NICE guideline (NG214)
Supporting information
The NICE guideline has provided a framework to use in refining and developing the care pathway. The general principles contained within the guidance, such as those of supporting and sustaining engagement with services and providing information and communication, have been used as part of a wider initiative to integrate dental access into a broader holistic health and social care response to homelessness. Use of the NICE guideline enabled us to adapt the service further to ensure that it meets the needs of the people it aims to serve.
Quotes
"Emotionally he's transformed, nutritionally he's put on weight because he's able to eat, his self-esteem, his confidence and employment opportunities, his sense of worth is now fully established… his decision was 'I either continue on this path of destruction', which was very much influenced by his childhood experiences, or 'I survive and thrive and I move forward'. And he chose the latter, and part of that was because he was linked to the Dental School."
Support worker.
"I think you've got a perception of what a homeless person may be like, they're taking drugs, etc. but actually you're stereotyping, they're just like me and you, they've just gone through a hard time. It's been a real eye opener for all of us, it's changed my perception really because I wouldn't [now] be so judgmental"
Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise staff member.
Contact details
Robert Witton
Professor of Community Dentistry
Email: Robert.witton@plymouth.ac.uk
Martha Paisi
Senior Research Fellow
Email: Martha.paisi@plymouth.ac.uk
ISBN: 978-1-4731-7289-0
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