Doshi Mili, Gillway Daniel, Macintyre Loraine
Consultant in Special Care Dentistry, Surrey and Sussex Health Care Trust, East Surrey Hospital, Canada Avenue, Redhill, RH1 5RH, UK.
Dental Officer, Surrey and Sussex Health Care Trust, East Surrey Hospital, Canada Avenue, Redhill, RH1 5RH, UK.
Br Dent J. 2022 Apr 4:1-7. doi: 10.1038/s41415-022-4137-6.
Background Denture loss is a significant problem for patients admitted to hospital in the UK. Initiatives aimed at staff and patients have been introduced at many hospitals to try and reduce and solve this issue.Aim This investigation aimed to evaluate the impact of a quality improvement programme on denture loss at an acute hospital, including the reasons dentures were reported as lost or broken and who reported them.Method Information on dentures which were lost or broken was collected in an acute hospital between 2016-2021 and included the number of losses, the reason for the loss/breakage and who reported them. The number of complaints and financial reimbursement related to denture loss was also obtained from the trust for the same period.Results In total, 123 dentures were reported as lost or broken between 2016-2021. The most commonly reported reasons for loss were patient transfers between wards, being left on hospital trays, or when patients were sleeping. Patients or carers are more likely to report a lost denture compared to hospital staff. Reimbursement paid by the trust for denture incidents is much lower than the numbers reported.Conclusion Creating a single reporting pathway for denture loss and implementing methods to reduce denture loss led to an increase in the numbers of dentures reported as lost. This is likely to be attributed to an increased awareness of reporting pathways. Denture loss is a significant financial burden to the NHS, in addition to causing patients and families distress and is most likely under-reported in many hospitals.
假牙丢失对英国住院患者来说是一个重大问题。许多医院已针对医护人员和患者采取了相关举措，试图减少并解决这一问题。
本调查旨在评估一项质量改进计划对一家急症医院假牙丢失情况的影响，包括假牙被报告丢失或损坏的原因以及报告者是谁。
收集了一家急症医院在2016年至2021年期间丢失或损坏假牙的相关信息，包括丢失数量、丢失/损坏原因以及报告者。同时还从信托机构获取了同一时期与假牙丢失相关的投诉数量和财务报销情况。
2016年至2021年期间，共报告123副假牙丢失或损坏。最常报告的丢失原因是患者在病房之间转移、遗留在医院托盘上或患者睡觉时。与医院工作人员相比，患者或护理人员更有可能报告假牙丢失。信托机构为假牙事件支付的报销费用远低于报告的数量。
建立单一的假牙丢失报告途径并实施减少假牙丢失的方法，导致报告为丢失的假牙数量增加。这可能归因于对报告途径的认识提高。假牙丢失除了给患者和家庭带来困扰外，还给英国国家医疗服务体系带来了巨大的经济负担，而且在许多医院很可能存在报告不足的情况。
