Promoting access to dental care in South London: adult patients' perspectives.

Objective: To evaluate patients' views on health service initiatives established to improve uptake of NHS primary dental care amongst adult patients in a socially deprived area, comparing practices with extended and regular contract capacity. Study design: Service evaluation and cross-sectional survey. Method: Questionnaire survey of patients attending a random sample of dental practices in three inner-metropolitan boroughs of south London following initiatives to improve access to dental care (across dental practices delivering regular and extended contracts for services) exploring attendance patterns and the influence and awareness of local initiatives to promote access. Results: Four hundred fifty adults across 12 dental practices completed questionnaires: 79% reported attending for routine and 21% for urgent care. Patients were most aware of banners outside practices, followed by dental advertisements in newspapers. Vouchers for free treatments were considered of the highest possible influence, followed by vouchers for reduced treatment costs and an emergency out-of-hours helpline. Awareness and influence were not aligned, and there was no evidence of difference by practice contract type whilst there were differences by age and type of attendance. Conclusion: The findings suggest that financial incentives and emergency services are considered the most influential initiatives for adult patients whose attendance patterns appear to be related to personal circumstances rather than merely being influenced by the provision of information

The patient's perspective of remote respiratory assessments during the COVID-19 pandemic

Forced vital capacity (FVC) is an essential respiratory measurement for assessment and monitoring of patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Our clinic rapidly implemented remote assessment of FVC after COVID-19 related restrictions on respiratory testing were imposed, using mini-spirometers and video consultation. We sought to evaluate the patient's experiences of performing remote respiratory assessments to guide future development and optimisation of the service. Twenty-five patients completed surveys. The mean age was 65.2 years and average time from diagnosis was 17.04 (2-99) months. Seventy-two percent (n = 18) required help from a caregiver to perform the tests. Ninety-two percent (n = 23) of patients reported that overall, they were satisfied and were happy to continue with remote respiratory assessment. Reducing the number of clinic visits for review and assessment was valued by 92% (n = 23) and reducing the risk associated with COVID-19 was valued by 96% (n = 24). The highest frequency reported as acceptable for performing the remote breathing assessments was monthly (60%, n = 15), followed by every second month (28%, n = 7). Remote respiratory testing is viewed positively by patients. These technologies used in combination with video-consultations and other novel forms of remote monitoring implemented in response to the COVID-19 crisis will continue to be valuable tools for clinical care in future. However, further evaluation of the validity of remote respiratory assessment is required </p