Centre for Professional Practice (CPP), has worked with Kent Innovation and Enterprise to secured a research enterprise fund of £450,000 to work in partnership with Health Education England Kent Sussex and Surrey (HEKSS) on a work-related initiative aimed at improving the oral health of older persons.
Following a highly successful, award winning, pilot project, the Improving Oral Health of Older Persons Initiative (IOHOPI) is setting out to improve the oral health of older persons within the counties of Kent, Surrey and Sussex. The initiative will commence with the priority of improving oral health and healthcare principally for those older person residents in care homes within the three counties. By raising awareness of the importance of good oral health, both for quality of life and for general health, and by introducing work-based oral health training for carers within the residential care community, the initiative’s multi-professional dental team aim to establish a sustainable quality standard for the oral healthcare of older persons.
This work is interdisciplinary and involves multi-sectorial involvement. Head of CPP Debbie Reed will work with HEKSS Clinical Lead Dr Rob McCormick, Gerodontology Lead Dr Heather Lloyd and Dental Hygiene Lead Mike Wheeler, along with a number of other members of the HEKSS dental workforce, sector stakeholders, who will contribute to the initiative, which will last for 2 years.
For more information about CPP, and their partnerships with organisations and employers, as well as the post-graduate programmes, visit: http://www.kent.ac.uk/cpp/