475 - A two cycle audit of appointment adherence within the Orthodontic, Paediatric and General anaesthetic community dental services department

A Williams J Gillespie S Alam Saba
Presented by: Ailish Williams
Keir Hardie Dental Unit

Introduction This two cycle audit aimed to review and improve the patient attendance rates to the Community Dental Service’s orthodontic, paediatric and general anaesthetic assessment (GAA) clinics (clinics requiring referral to). The attendance rate target for Cwm Taf healthboard is 80% and this was the standard set in both cycles of this audit. Methods This was a retrospective two cycle audit: the first cycle reviewed attendance rates between January-July 2019 and the second cycle reviewed attendance rates between January-December 2020. The Community Dental Service’s software of excellence database was reviewed and the appointment diary for the orthodontic, paediatric and GAA clinic was accessed in order to document the number of patients who attended or did not attend their clinical appointment. During the first cycle, there was a total of 2470 scheduled appointments and there were 1120 scheduled appointments in the orthodontic, paediatric and GAA clinics. Results The first cycle found that the attendance rates in the departments were: orthodontic department was 90%; Paediatric attendance was 74% and GAA attendance rate was 89%. Additionally, a total of 108 hours of clinical time was lost due to same day cancellations by patients. The following recommendations were made in as a result of the findings; ensure patients contact details documented appropriately; educate patients on impact of FTA on clinics and receptionist to ask parents on date/time preference for appointments. The attendance rates during the second cycle were: Orthodontic was 88%; Paediatric was 74% and GAA 87% however, the attendance rates appear to be improving following the first lockdown. Conclusion The attendance rates between the first and second cycle do not appear to have greatly improved; there is difficulty with managing patients who frequently fail to attend appointments due to frequent staff rotations and due to the nature of the patients and parents. However, the attendance rate in
Consent Statement: There are no details on individual patients reported within the abstract.

Poster