Brighter Smiles Ahead for Children ... - Smile Together€¦ · Brighter Smiles Ahead for Children...

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Quarterly Newsletter Issue 01 Brighter Smiles Ahead for Children Healthier, happier communities National recognition for one of our own!

Transcript of Brighter Smiles Ahead for Children ... - Smile Together€¦ · Brighter Smiles Ahead for Children...

Page 1: Brighter Smiles Ahead for Children ... - Smile Together€¦ · Brighter Smiles Ahead for Children Page 2 Double Award Shortlisting Page 5 Staff council update Page 7 Finance focus

Quarterly Newsletter Issue 01

Brighter Smiles Ahead for ChildrenHealthier, happier communities

National recognition for one of our own!

Page 2: Brighter Smiles Ahead for Children ... - Smile Together€¦ · Brighter Smiles Ahead for Children Page 2 Double Award Shortlisting Page 5 Staff council update Page 7 Finance focus

In th

is: e

ditio

n Welcome to the first edition of ImpactPage 1

National recognition for one of our own!Page 4

Healthier, happier communitiesPage 6

Brighter Smiles Ahead for ChildrenPage 2

Double Award ShortlistingPage 5

Staff council updatePage 7

Finance focusPage 8

impact: Issue 01

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Welcome: to the first edition of Impact!

We have finished the financial year strongly and the extension of our NHS contract until 2019 allows us to plan further in advance, you’ll see more information on finances and investments in this edition.

We showcase real progress across Smile Together in a number of areas including the launch of our revamped Brighter Smiles campaign, winning a tender to continue oral health education in Cornish schools, and finalists for national and local awards.

Our ongoing commitment to our communities continues to play a big part in what we do. We also have an update for you on volunteering opportunities and work with Dentaid,

working with refugees in Cornwall, and of course your charity activities raising money for the Alzheimer’s Society.

We’ve also been busy growing our team so we have more information for you on new arrivals and how you can help us attract more staff as we grow together.

We hope you find the magazine helpful and informative and as always if there are features or stories you would like to see please email your ideas to [email protected].

Thank you for your contribution to a great start to 2017.

Paul & Chris

This new magazine has been redesigned following discussion and input from your Staff Council so as to bring you a quarterly round up of the news and activities across the company.

Paul CritchleyManaging Director

Chris RobertsClinical Director

“We showcase real progress

across Smile Together on a number of areas

including the launch of our revamped Brighter

Smiles campaign”

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Brighter Smiles: Ahead for Children

We’ve made two big leaps forward to improving the oral health of children in Cornwall (and hopefully across the country) after launching our major Brighter Smiles Campaign and being recommissioned by Cornwall Council to continue oral health education in childrens centres, nurseries and primary schools.

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20th March 2017 (World Oral Health Day) could go down as the day when we took a lead role in improving the oral health of children up and down the country.

We went public by signalling our intention to reverse the growing trend of avoidable tooth extractions from children - a serious public health issue which currently costs the NHS in excess of £130m annually.

The new Brighter Smiles campaign aims to bring local schools and dentists together in a bid to bring to an end the single biggest cause of hospital admissions amongst children aged 5 to 9 - tooth extractions.

We all know this problem is 100% preventable if children, parents and guardians have access to oral health education and fluoride applications at an early stage.

Our campaign sees us step up our work in tackling the issue and demonstrate that for only £1500 per school, health outcomes can be greatly improved for young children and significantly reduce pressure on the NHS.

To kick start the campaign, we are funding a campaign manager role to deliver this community-led approach in Cornwall and create a formula for national roll out. In addition, we will coordinate all activities to grow the campaign based on our experience in working with 30 schools across the county.

The first village school to be included in the campaign will be Indian Queens Primary School during National Smile month from 15th May - 15th June, organised by the Oral Health Foundation and now in its 41st year.

Headteacher Jane Scown said: “We are really pleased to be selected as the pilot school for this extremely important campaign which we wholeheartedly support. Our pupils are really looking forward to learning more about the importance of oral health.”

Over the coming weeks the Brighter Smiles campaign will map the areas where it can make the greatest impact; reach out to commercial sponsors to put in place the foundations of a national fund and bring the problem to the attention of the media and politicians.

Throughout this campaign we shall be looking for staff involvement and will keep you informed on how you can actively get involved. Please keep a lookout for these updates which shall be through internal communications and the staff intranet.

“Over the coming weeks

the Brighter Smiles campaign will map the

areas where it can make the greatest

impact”

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National recognition: for one of our own! Congratulations to Heidi Wyatt on being

shortlisted for ‘Dental Nurse of the Year’ at the Dental Awards 2017. We’ll find out who the winner is on 12th May at a glittering ceremony at NEC Hilton Metropole in Birmingham.

On finding out the news, Heidi said: “OMG! How did that happen?!”, and then when she had chance to calm down, she added: “I’m thrilled to have been put forward and to be considered for this award. Very simply, this news wouldn’t be possible without the support I get day-in-day-out from all of my colleagues so I’d like to say a big thank you to them!”

Heidi entered the profession 27 years ago as a fresh-faced 17 year old YTS dental nurse in Cornwall with a big desire to help people. It is to her absolute credit that she retains that level of desire and enthusiasm today after seeing over an estimated 89,000 patients during her career!

The judges recognised her dedication throughout her career which saw her meet their entry criteria of: positive feedback on balancing patient demands with clinical care; dedication to self training above statutory requirements; and wider commitment to the profession.

Paul Critchley, said: “We are all very proud to see Heidi’s commitment and professionalism capture the attention of such a prestigious body. As a caring nurse, prominent oral health campaigner, and a respected member of our team, she thoroughly deserves to be placed amongst the top dental nurses in the country.”

Good luck Heidi!

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Double: Award ShortlistingWe are delighted to have been placed on the shortlist for two prestigious awards at The Cornwall Business Awards 2017.

On 18th May at St Mellion International Resort, we’ll take our place amongst ‘The Stars of Cornwall’ to find out whether we have won ‘Best New Business’ and/or ‘Employer of the Year.’

The judges were impressed with the progress we have made since forming our own Community Interest Company (which classes us as a new business), offering staff ownership, electing a staff council, having excellent customer feedback, rebranding our services, making an impact in our community, holding our AGM, winning new contracts and launching a new oral health campaign.

Fingers crossed and well done to you all for having your hard work recognised by some of Cornwall’s leading business figures.

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“The judges were impressed

with the progress we have made since

forming our own Community Interest

Company”

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Healthier, happier: communities

We’ve continued to make a real impact on our communities and those further afield with a series of initiatives this year.

Supporting Alzheimer’s Society

This year we are raising funds for our nominated charity, the Alzheimer’s Society. We are pleased

to say that to date, you have raised over £800 for this very worthy cause. As part of our partnership with the charity, we were very fortunate that as part of the Clinical Staff Away Day, we had a member of the Society talk to us about Dementia Friends, which was both enlightening and appreciated by us all.

Supporting refugees in CornwallCloser to home we have been chosen by Kernow Clinical Commissioning Group to treat newly-settled refugees in our region who have an urgent requirement for dental care.

Our team will extend its work in the months ahead to assist refugees who may have fled war, disaster, poverty or persecution and who are suffering from dental pain or problems.

Community ChestThis initiative see us support nine local clubs, from cricket to cycling to scouts, across Cornwall. We’ve had plenty of fun along the way and we look forward to continuing our support and increasing the size and reach of our Community Chest in the coming months.

This support is possible due to interest earned by Smile Together on its business bank account and is in addition to our main service budgets.

Donating to DentaidWe were delighted to find out that our old uniforms will be put to good use by Dentaid by helping to equip their vital work with refugees.

Kerry Crook, UK & European Projects Manager, explained: “There hasn’t been a dentist in these camps for over a year and there are people who can only eat porridge because their pain is so severe. Dentaid has been sending volunteers to the refugee camps in northern Greece since last summer and we have been overwhelmed by the support and generosity of dental professionals who are

willing to help people out of pain. Now we need to respond to the dental crisis on Lesvos and Samos where there has been no dental care at all. It will be hard work, but volunteers will receive a warm welcome and will be able to use their skills to make a real difference.” She continued: “Thank you very much for having Jacqueline and I at your event and also for your kind donation of uniforms. These will be very useful for our teams travelling out to the camps in Greece.”

As part of their visit, Dentaid explained how our staff can help out through volunteering. More details on this will be announced soon.

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Staff council: updateThe Staff Council is a joint body made up of elected staff representatives, Directors, Managers and the recognised Unions (currently BDA and Unison)

The Chair of the Staff Council is voted for by the elected staff members and is then invited to also take on the role of Staff Elected Non-Executive Director on the Board.

Most of you will remember Carolyn Giles (external HR) and she continues to support the Staff Council in their important role.

Since its inception, the Staff Council has discussed and been involved with a wide variety of topics including:

• Improving communication - one of the reasons why you are reading this magazine!

• Creating the West Country Dental Care Services brand - working with Fuel Communications on the name, uniforms and new website for the service

• Putting in place a volunteering policy• Time off for GP/Medical appointments• Policy for staff accessing emergency dental care

We have also looked at updating old inherited policies to reflect our new independent status. These include the Sickness Policy, Leave Policy, Health & Wellbeing Policy, Whistleblowing Policy and Alcohol & Substance Misuse Policy. Please be reassured that these policies have remained mostly the same and that any alterations have been made to bring the policies in line with our new company, and have been approved by not only the Staff Council but the union representatives also.

Maria is working with Joy Callender on developing a type of ‘Patient Charter’ for WCDC which mostly describes our values. This is work in progress and will continue to be discussed at future Staff Council Meetings.

We have discussed a Recruitment and Retention Plan, and our company now offers NHS Pensions to all dentists; CPD options to enhance career development, e.g. Topical Fluoride Application course and Minor Oral Surgery course; more expedient in-house recruitment. We are also looking at ways to take more advantage of our Intranet and how we can make it more interactive.

So lots to talk about, lots of ideas and we just want to keep the momentum going. As always we want to hear from you, so feel free to email us at our confidential email address which is only seen by staff reps [email protected].

Growing our teamWith new contracts secured and plans in place to expand our Brighter Dental service, recruitment is a high priority for us this year.

We are currently recruiting for a number of clinical roles and a campaign manager for the Brighter Smiles campaign, all of our vacancies are displayed on the Smile Together website so if you have contacts who might be interested please encourage them to visit the site or follow us on social media.

Over the past few months we have managed to attract a number of new recruits across all of our services. They include:

David Bustin - Area Manager (Brighter Dental)April Smith - Marketing ManagerDeborah Cain - Corporate Support AssistantNeil Crowther - IT AnalystKirsty Kelly - Corporate Support AssistantEmma Covus - Clinical Support FacilitatorLaura Cunliffe - Dental NurseDerek Anderson - Decontamination TechnicianPam Lloyd - Call Centre OperativeRebecca Oates - Dental NurseKay Walden - Dental Nurse

www.facebook.com/SmileTogetherUK

www.twitter.com/SmileTogetherUK

www.linkedin.com/company/ smile-together-dental-cic

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Current elected members are:

• Nicola Barr- Dentist (Chair)• Maria Cockle-Dentist• Kerry Clift- Dental Nurse• Heidi Wyatt- Dental Nurse• Kate Neal- Systems Administrator• Matt Rogers- Systems Administrator• Kerry Clift- Dental Nurse

(seeking a new representative member)

Current other members are:

• Chris Roberts - Clinical Director• Paul Critchley - Managing Director• Tina Allen - Corporate Support Manager• Unison Representative• BDA Representative

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Finance: focusAs we have reached the financial year-end there is a natural point where we can look back over the past year and see if all the plans we had have come to fruition. At the same time there is a strong focus on the next financial year and the plans we have. This creates a busy time within the finance department.

In the last financial year we took time to review the needs of the business and ensure that as an organisation we spent the money in the right areas and received all the income we were due. This has meant there is a healthy surplus on the accounts as we have made decisions not to rush into new arrangements or contracts. This surplus is what will be used to support the new dental centres.

Our income is mainly from our NHS contract and for those who do not get NHS exemptions, we have reviewed and rewritten procedures to ensure that we receive all income due and support the dental teams within the clinics when needed. This has included a new process for those attending community sessions with carers. The amount due from patients at the beginning of the year was in excess of £20,000. This is now below £7,000.

This is the first year that all dental equipment within all our surgeries has been serviced. The supplier has also written a report on the condition and age of the equipment. This is being reviewed by the management team, along with the repairs data and the plans for the future. If it is identified that we need to invest in a clinic, given the restraints of working in NHS buildings, we will ensure that the equipment is replaced.

Most dental clinics would have had a number of new small items delivered for use – from Dyson hot/cold fans to curing lights, woodpecker scalers, handpieces, Endo systems and we are putting new RO water systems into Camborne and Bellair. The work to deploy the x-ray machines is still on-going working with the landlord and CITS to ensure all necessary ports are installed.

A refresh of the IT equipment is continuing across all locations. The administration office has been completed, including a new phone system that can manage patient’s calls more efficiently and professionally. Also, 53 new desktops and monitors have been bought to replace the aging equipment in the clinics. A planned roll out will be put in place to make sure that the disruption to clinics is kept to a minimum. We have also installed new printer/scanners into all 12 locations.

The year-end accounts will be audited by Bishop Fleming in June and on 12th July a shareholders evening has been arranged at The Greenbank Hotel in Falmouth. This evening will cover understanding of the accounts and the language used within them.

Looking forward, the budgets for this financial year have been prepared and taken to Board. It is important that as a business we have a clear picture of how the business is going for the next year and the following four years. A surplus should be the aim for each year to ensure a solid financial future. The Board have approved the budgets for 2017/18.

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“We have taken time to

review the needs of the business and ensure that as an organisation

we are spending the money in the right

areas”

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Keep up to date, like, share and

follow at:

@SmileTogetherUK Smile Together Dental CIC

@SmileTogetherUK

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Truro Health Park,Infirmary Hill, Truro, TR1 2JA

T: 0333 405 0290E: [email protected]: www.smiletogether.co.uk