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QI and research

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Quality improvement and research

It is a requirement of clinical governance and fundamental good clinical practice that all healthcare professionals work to monitor and constantly strive to improve the quality of care they and their teams provide. 

It is recommended that:

  • all those involved in providing the first point of patient contact receive appropriate training and ongoing professional development, including specific instruction on the application of this guidance
  • all those involved in the delivery of emergency dental services regularly seek to carry out quality improvement activities
  • arrangements that are in place for emergency dental care are examined as part of the standard dental inspections of general dental practices and other primary care providers, and reflect the good practice outlined in this guidance
  • telephone triage services audit their performance on a regular basis and are subject to external review
  • all providers of emergency dental care carry out significant event analysis (SEA) as appropriate; further information is available via the NHS Education for Scotland TURAS website (https://learn.nes.nhs.scot/).

Recommendations for quality improvement

Quality improvement aims to ensure that patients receive care that is safe and of high quality. Undertaking quality improvement activities can help healthcare teams assess and improve the care that they provide for patients with acute dental problems. Topics should be chosen carefully to ensure that the information collected will help identify areas for improvement. Relevant measures to consider include:

  • patient safety
  • the timeliness of care
  • the equity of care
  • the individual needs of patients

Topics for quality improvement activities relevant to this guidance include:

  • the allocation of patients to each care category (Emergency, Urgent, Non-Urgent)
  • the appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing for acute dental problems
  • the appropriateness of analgesic prescribing for acute dental problems
  • medical history recording

Recommendations for research

Research evidence to inform the management of most acute dental problems is generally of poor quality or lacking. There is a need for well reported, high-quality studies that are appropriately designed to address gaps in the evidence base for many of the conditions covered in this guidance. Other topics for research investigation in this area include the involvement and cooperation of multiple professional groups and the organisation of services to provide this type of patient care.