Referral information for referrals to Bucks Priority Dental Service (Buckinghamshire part of BPDS)

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1 Referral information for referrals to Bucks Priority Dental Service (Buckinghamshire part of BPDS) Referring patients to Special Care Dentistry Services (BPDS) aims is to provide a comprehensive treatment service for those adults and children who would not nor could not, by virtue of their special needs, access dentistry in General Dental Practice. They specialise in behaviour management related to dental care and aim to enable patients to accept dental care with minimum specialist intervention. For some patients this will enable them to be referred back to their general dental practitioner for ongoing care and they aim to do this wherever possible. The service provides care that is complementary to the GDS and hospital services and hence they will not provide dental care on referral that duplicates services provided in these settings. Referrals can be made by general dental practitioners, general medical practitioners, any other health or social care professional, self-referral or referral by carers or family members. Acceptance criteria Referrals may be accepted where clinicians with special skills (beyond the scope of a GDP) are required, and treatment within the GDS is not appropriate for the following groups: Adults and children with severe learning disabilities Adults and children with complex medical problems Adults and children with severe mental health problems Children with severe behavioural management problems Adults with very severe anxiety and dental phobias Where treatment within the GDS is not appropriate as specialised equipment or facilities are required: Treatment under general anaesthetic or sedation where local anaesthetic has been tried and failed. Adults and children needing domiciliary care where it is not possible for the patient to access the surgery even with transport (A limited range of treatment can be provided on a domiciliary basis). A dental chair suitable for bariatric patients is available at Oakridge Clinic

2 Disabled persons or patients that require a hoist who cannot access GDS. This includes patients with mobility problems where no GDP with ground floor access is taking on NHS patients within a reasonable distance. Many GDPs have well-developed skills delivering care for patients with special needs and in these cases patients should remain with their own practitioner. Additional notes Assessment and treatment appointments will normally be offered at the clinic nearest to the patient s home address. Please indicate if your patient would be able to travel further from home if an earlier appointment is available. Please note that it may be possible for a patient to be seen sooner if they are prepared to travel and this may be the case for an emergency appointment. The patients may also be asked to travel to certain clinics if specific equipment is required e.g. IV sedation, bariatric chair Referrals should not be sent directly to clinics or individual clinicians. On receipt, the referral will be assessed and prioritised. This process will start the 18 week clock. Following triaging, the referral may not be accepted and returned back to referrer or accepted for clinical assessment and patient offered an assessment appointment. Once the clinical assessment has taken place, the following outcomes are possible: Patient accepted for treatment and full course of treatment provided; Patient accepted for treatment but during course of treatment agreed that patient able to have treatment by GDP and so referred back to GDP for some or completion of treatment; Patient discharged back to referrer as felt following clinical assessment not eligible for care within BPDS For cases triaged as urgent, the patient will be telephoned to arrange an appointment. Routine referrals or urgent referrals where the patient cannot be contacted by telephone will be contacted in writing If the service has not been successful in making contact with the patient within three weeks, the referral will be closed, the clock stopped and the patient returned to the referrer Patients who cancel their appointments, where possible, will be offered another suitable appointment within four weeks. If they cannot attend within this time or do not contact the service within two weeks, the referral will be returned to the practitioner.

3 If the cancellation is due to an unstable medical condition, treatment may be postponed for up to three months and the clock stopped, For children and vulnerable adults, if the carer or guardian has not made contact after two weeks, another appointment will be offered. Patients who fail their first (assessment) appointment will be referred back to the practitioner. On subsequent (treatment) visits the patient will be contacted by letter to ask them to contact us within three weeks, otherwise they will be discharged back to their practitioner. For children and vulnerable adults, the same procedure will be followed, but if no contact is made they will be telephoned after three weeks. If no appointment is requested at that time, or contact cannot be made, they will be referred back to their practitioner and a copy of the discharge letter will be sent to the patient, their representative/carer and their GP/health visitor. All treatment provided by BPDS is subject to NHS patient charges, unless the patient can provide evidence of current exemption. Adults liable to pay for NHS dental treatment should normally make the appropriate payment to their referring dentist. Patients referred for sedation are likely to have to pay an additional charge as sedation is a separate course of treatment and patients should be made aware of this by the referring dentist. Please also note that credit card payments only accepted at Brookside dental clinic so any payments made at the other sites in Bucks will need to be via cheque or cash only. Patients should also be made aware that payments will be expected on first and subsequent visits. How and where to refer Referrals must be sent on the appropriate referral form and be completed fully to enable the referral to be processed quickly. Incomplete forms will be returned to the dental practice which will cause delays to patient treatment. Patient pain will have to be managed by the GDP until the correct referral is received. When the treatment specified in the referral is complete, patients will be discharged back to the GDP. The patient is only under the care of the service until following the initial consultation and remains under the care until discharged back to the referring GDP. Some patients with severe special needs may be accepted for continuing care. Please use the form and pathway guidance provided when making a referral to the Special Care Service. Refer via NHS.net account or by safe haven fax or post if is not possible

4 Referral Form A Referral Form B There are two referral forms- one for use by dental professionals (referral form A) which is for anyone referring with a dental background and one for use by non dental professionals (referral form B) which is for everyone else and so please ensure correct form is completed. All referrals should be sent to: (from NHS.net address only): bpds.bucks@nhs.net Postal and fax referrals to: Brookside Centre Station Way East Aylesbury HP20 2SR Fax For information only: Special care dental services are also provided at the following addresses: Camborne Centre Jansel Square Aylesbury HP21 7ET Buckingham Hospital High Street Buckingham MK18 1NU

5 Oakridge Centre 240 Desborough Road High Wycombe HP11 2QR Amersham Heath Centre Chiltern Avenue Amersham HP6 5AY Marlow Health Centre Glade Road Marlow SL7 1DJ Last updated Sept 2014