A report on a Healthwatch Reading project exploring the oral health of children aged under ten years in Reading; Norcot, Church and Southcote Wards.

The Committee received a report from Healthwatch Reading regarding a project exploring the oral health of children aged under ten years in Reading’s Norcot, Church and Southcote wards. Tariq Gomma, Engagement Officer and Alice Kunjappy-Clifton, Lead Officer, Healthwatch, provided a presentation. Saadia Mohamed addressed the meeting on her involvement in the project as a Community Connector in South Reading and on her experiences as a parent of a child with additional needs of managing children’s oral health. 

The report explained that an oral health survey in 2022 had found that 32% of 5 year olds in Reading had one or more untreated decayed teeth (higher than the 29% national average) and Reading did not currently have an oral health strategy in place. 

The CORE20PLUS5 was an NHS England approach to reduce health inequalities of adults, children and young people of the most deprived 20% of the population across the UK, in 5 focus areas.  For children and young people, the 5 (Plus5) focus areas were asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, oral

health and mental health. National data highlighted that health outcomes were worst for children and young people living in the most deprived areas in the UK with 1 in 11 children and young people facing severe health outcomes.

As part of the CORE20PLUS5 Connectors Programme, involving BOB ICB, Healthwatch Reading, Healthwatch Oxfordshire and Healthwatch Buckinghamshire, a project had been developed to work towards reducing the health inequalities in oral health for children and young people in locally deprived areas. In Reading, a project had been organised using Healthwatch’s Engagement Officers and five Community Connectors to understand the experiences of families in three of the most deprived areas of Reading: Norcot, Church and Southcote (who came from different

ethnic backgrounds and had a child/children under ten) of dental care for their children during the past two years. The findings could then contribute to a Reading oral health strategy.

The report gave details of how the project had been organised and set out its findings, in the following areas:

·         Caring for children’s teeth

·         Children with additional needs

·         Access to dental services

·         How parents/carers learned how to look after children’s teeth

·         Oral care at home – what works and the challenges

·         Experience at the dentist

·         Parents/Carers notes and recommendations

The report also included family case studies and set out recommendations, how the project had made a difference and key learning points. It listed the next steps, including:

·         Supporting and advising Reading Borough Council Public Health on the production of an oral health strategy for all residents of all ages across Reading.

·         Sharing the findings with the families that had participated in the project and inviting them in 6 months' time to a focus group to discuss what was happening with their child/children’s oral health since their interviews.

·         Presenting the findings to Reading’s Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (the Adult Social Care, Children’s Services and Education Committee) and the Reading Integration Board.

·         As the project was part of the wider CORE20PLUS5 Connectors Programme, with Healthwatch Buckinghamshire and Healthwatch Oxfordshire also completing projects in their areas, collaborating on a joint report about all the projects and findings. The joint report would then be presented to the BOB ICB Health Inequalities Board.

Resolved:     That the report be noted.