The Childsmile team have a range of clinical, non-clinical and registered and unregistered staff. To ensure that the whole team feels supported and informed of their role it is essential that their individual needs are considered.
Individual needs will depend on whether the participant:
- is employed by an independent practice or a health board
- works solely within the Toothbrushing, Fluoride Varnish and/or Community and Practice Programmes
- has relevant experience.
New members of the team will require a supportive induction programme, however, long-term, experienced staff also require the opportunity to ensure that their knowledge and skills remain current. All agenda for change staff are entitled to have protected learning time and this should be discussed with their line manager.
Induction
All new unregistered staff will have to meet the requirements of the Mandatory Induction Standards and the Healthcare Support Worker Code of Conduct. These requirements should be monitored by the line manager through the Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) processes.
In addition to this, all staff (with their line manager), must identify their own needs in relation to developing their knowledge and practice and reviewing and improving their working practices as required (e.g. shadowing home visiting).
As part of the process evaluation prior to national roll out, Dental Health Support Workers (DHSWs) across Scotland were asked to describe their experience of starting out in Childsmile Practice, and specifically how they felt about home visiting and the support they received.
This report details the responses of Dental Health Support Workers. It gives valuable insight into the concerns new DHSWs have and the support and encouragement that helps develop confident colleagues. The feedback can be used as part of the PDP process.
Areas to consider as part of induction and ongoing training (including mandatory):
Training
- hand washing
- basic life support
- manual handling
- infection control
- fire safety
- violence and aggression
- child protection
- weaning and nutrition
- breastfeeding
- domestic abuse
- equality and diversity
- suicide brief intervention
- community development
- post-natal depression
- smoking cessation
- substance misuse
- autism spectrum disorder.
Local NHS policies and procedures:
- lone working policy
- record keeping policy
- travel and timesheet procedures
- child protection guidelines
- code of conduct for Health Care Support Workers – NHS Scotland.
Shadowing opportunities for:
- Childsmile staff
- Extended Duty Dental Nurses (EDDNs)
- DHSWs (Nursery/School and Practice)
- toothbrushing staff
- Dentists
- Dental Nurses
- Dental receptionist
- public health nursing teams
- home visits, clinics and groups
- other public health groups and community staff
- speech therapists
- health promotion staff
- school nurses.