I recently met with Yaa Asamany, the Manager for Heatlhwatch Harrow to discuss dentistry and closer co-working between the Healthwatch and LDC.
We share many of the same concerns, such as access to, and the availability of, dental services as well as the quality of information being provided to patients to enable them to manage their oral health.
This meeting was an introductory one, in my new role as Healthwatch Harrow liaison from the LDC, and proved very productive. We have been invited to provide information through Healthwatch Harrow’s newsletter, social media and website to help inform patients and promote oral health. We have also been invited to a planned face to face forum in September, details of which are still be developed but which will represent a real opportunity to engage with a wide range of the public to both inform and gather feedback from.
Specifically, Healthwatch Harrow was concerned about difficulties facing dental access for children with special educational needs and disabilities. This echoes feedback heard in meetings of the Harrow Oral Health Steering Group. This is a serious issue which will require many stakeholders to work together to resolve. But the first step in resolution is identifying the problem and bringing the right people together to solve it. In building our relationship with Healthwatch Harrow I’m confident that we are making the right start.
