Heart of Kent Hospice leads the way with New Oral Health Care Training Courses

In response to an urgent need identified to train health care staff on how best to deliver the best Oral Health Care in care homes and end of life settings, Heart of Kent Hospice, in Maidstone, Kent have launched a new 3-hour training course designed to assist health care workers on how best to deliver the best Oral Health Care to patients and residents.

Oral hygiene and mouthcare is a basic need for everyone and those unable to do this for themselves, rely on their care providers to assist them. Sadly, it is an area of care where there is a lack of education and emphasis on its importance and how it impacts negatively on health and well-being.

40% of people at the end of life are unable to communicate their needs, including communicating the pain that their oral issues are causing them therefore potentially experiencing unrecognised pain in their last days and hours of life.  This does not constitute to the ‘good death’ that every individual has the right to.

NICE (2018) identified that those over 75s living in care homes were 40% more likely to suffer from oral problems to compared to those living at home.

Practice Development Nurse Lisa Summers at Heart of Kent Hospice was the driving force behind implementing this new training course, after attending the Mouthcare Matters ECHO project facilitated by Marie Curie and works alongside Louisa Terry, Head of Education and Training at the Hospice.

Louisa Terry, Head of Education and Training at Heart of Kent Hospice said: “At the Heart of Kent hospice, we believe that effective mouth care is fundamental to safe and effective end of life care. At a time when our patients are at their most vulnerable and most fragile, it is a form of care that is not only essential to their physical health but also essential to the well-being of them and their loved ones. Giving effective mouth care can prevent oral issues such as mucositis, oral candidiasis and oral ulcers which this particular demographic of people is more prone to due to their declining immune systems. Having oral issues at the end of life can be incredibly detrimental to individuals and their loved ones.

“Oral issues can mean patients are unable to verbally communicate with their loved ones at a moment when time is a luxury they do not have.  It can lead to individuals being unable to eat and drink, causing discomfort and distress to both the individual and their loved ones.  Oral issues can be very painful, with 1 in 5 people at the end of life developing oral candidiasis and 1 in 3 developing oral ulcers, this is a real issue. 

“The benefits of going back to basics to teach mouthcare, will undoubtedly improve quality of life particularly for those who need assistance and for those who are in their last weeks and days of their life.”

The training programme has already been rolled out to the clinical team at Heart of Kent Hospice to ensure that the oral care they are giving is effective and tailored to suit the needs of the individual.

The new courses will offer education and training on the delivery of effective mouthcare to care home nurses and care workers in a classroom setting with a practical element to the training.  This will include guidance on the correct way to provide mouthcare to those with different health conditions (ie mouth and neck cancers, MND, Dementia).  There will also be a focus on the up-to-date equipment required to deliver mouthcare effectively.  The Hospice will also provide resources and ongoing support to care homes if needed.

To find out more contact Louisa Terry, Head of Education and Training at Heart of Kent Hospice Tel: 01622 792200 ext.214.