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 Welcome to the April Word of Mouth.

If you have a story to contribute, or an idea for next month's Word of Mouth, contact Jacqui Bunting by 7 May.

Aboriginal health services from around Victoria are contributing to a new statewide Aboriginal oral health plan. The plan is being developed by DHSV with advice from the newly-formed Aboriginal Oral Health Reference Group.

The new Aboriginal Oral Health Reference Group will alert DHSV to gaps in service delivery in Aboriginal communities, and will give advice on oral health awareness programs and materials.

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On Friday 7 May we will acknowledge the 120 year anniversary of The Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne with a community celebration to be held in the Cardigan Street carpark at the former site of The Royal Women’s Hospital.

A delicious barbecue will be served from 12 midday to 2pm and all staff, patients and students are invited to attend.

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The Cartridges 4 Planet Ark program and MobileMuster have teamed up to help you recycle both printer cartridges and mobile phones using the same collection boxes.

This new service is being run as a trial project in Victorian workplaces only. If it’s successful it will be rolled out to other states in the future.

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The warning signs of a heart attack are not what most people expect, and so the Heart Foundation is using National Heart Week (2-8 May) to help us learn to recognise a heart attack if we need to.

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Health and safety representatives (HSRs) play a crucial role in supporting the development and maintenance of safety management systems within DHSV.

Elected by their peers for a period of three years, HSRs communicate health and safety matters to management, members of their workgroup and the OHS Committee.

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Thank you to all staff who continue to make casual dress day donations each Friday. Casual dress day funds collected for the remainder of April and May will be donated to the Hands Across the Water, a Thailand-based charity that was established by Australian Peter Baines to help children orphaned by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.

If you would like to nominate a charity to receive casual dress day funds, please contact Pam Beeston on x1328.

The Executive Team considers any nominated charities or causes before making a decision as to which one DHSV will support in this manner.

DHSV Email

All staff email addresses are now available in a “firstname.surname@dhsv.org.au” format.
Please note that emails can still be sent to alternative addresses previously used, but to ensure consistency across the organisation, staff are encouraged to use the new preferred format.

Staff barbecue at RDHM

A barbecue will be held on Friday 23 April from 12 midday to 2pm in the Common Room courtyard at The Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne. Staff and students are invited.

Welcome to the March bulletin for public oral health agencies. 

Analysis Completed
The analysis of the 2009 Dental Record Keeping Self-audits received from Public Oral Health Agencies has been completed. Thank you for taking the time and effort to participate in this valuable exercise.

I am pleased to be able to provide your agency with a report that shows your results for 2008 and 2009, along with the averages for your region and the state. You may be able to use these to evaluate the quality of the documentation of your service, and compare the results with your colleagues in an effort to constantly improve the provision of care.

The charts attached provide the results of compliance reported by your clinic. Please note that reviewing a small number of records for each operator can only provide a snapshot of what is occurring. However, it does provide a valuable insight into areas about which you may wish to initiate discussions with your clinicians. No attempt at inter-agency calibration was undertaken.

A high level of compliance is notable. The report this year includes a summary, which highlights your achievements as well as identifying opportunities for improvement. We strongly encourage you to discuss this report internally and if required, seek assistance from the DHSV Agency Relationship Team to assist you. Please feel free to contact Marrianne Beaty, DHSV Manager Quality Improvement Projects (Agencies), who can be contacted on 9341 1045, or beatym@dhsv.org.au.

Change in methodology
The methodology for calculating the percentage of complying records where there is a not applicable rating has changed to exclude records with those ratings. A similar calculation has been applied to the 2008 results, and differences will be noted with the 2008 results published last year.

This is an annual audit in line with the Purchasing Agreement. We encourage you to conduct your audit at any time of the year and email the results to Marrianne, who will collate the results at the end of December 2010. Please continue to use the DHSV format for ease of collection and collation of results.
 

DHSV has again secured a limited number of complimentary places to the Melbourne Dental School’s Dentoalveolar Surgery Refresher Course in 2010. This is an exciting opportunity for experienced public oral health dentists with a foundation in minor oral surgery to improve their skills.
On completion, course participants will be able to manage the majority of complex extractions and minor dentoalveolar surgery cases, thereby reducing the need to refer patients to local oral and maxillofacial surgeons or the Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne. The program aims to improve the outcomes for patients, both in terms of clinical result and timely access.
We invite applications from appropriately experienced public dentists. All applications must be endorsed by your organisation. Course information and application forms will be distributed to Dental Program Managers via separate communication.
 

The Department of Health has recently modified eligibility rules for access to public dental services to allow all youth justice clients in custodial care, with or without a concession card, to have priority access to and fee exemption for public dental services. Please ensure that Youth Justice Centres requesting treatment for their clients are offered priority appointments.

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