Jason Wong – “Creating a positive patient safety culture in dentistry”
Featured Products Promotional FeaturesPosted by: Dental Design 22nd December 2022
Jason Wong is the Deputy Chief Dental Officer for England. He joined us at this year’s Dentistry Show London to present his session, “Creating a positive patient safety culture in dentistry”. He was joined by Health Education England (HEE) Fellow, Josie Sumer, to promote Project Spere which aims to change the culture of fear felt by many in dentistry. About Dentistry Show London and his session, he says:
“It’s been a bit of a flying visit this year, but the show so far has been really good, and I enjoyed presenting my session.”
Project Sphere aims to re-frame the way the dental team manage the recording of patient safety events by creating an infrastructure that is more supportive for dentists. In Jason Wong’s session, he encouraged a change in tone when discussing incidents, and the creation of a safe environment which allows dentists to learn from these events and share their experience.
When the team feels supported at practice level – with the opportunity to record incidents, manage and correct situations, and reflect on the event in order to learn from it going forward – a positive environment is created. The wider aim of this project is to help change the culture of dentistry as a whole and move away from defensive dentistry and fear, by encouraging education and incident recording.
“Our main message, and one which I hope many delegates will take away from my session, is about creating a culture in dentistry and in practices which makes their practising lives better.”
This project is aligned with the NHS patient safety strategy – learn from patient safety events (LFPSE) – which enables the recording and learning from incidents and examples of excellence. Dr Wong suggested that it’s important for dental professionals to remain vigilant looking out for when things go right and when things run the risk of going wrong. It is just as vital that professionals know what to do and who to talk to if things don’t go to plan.
Dr Wong recommended that delegates ask why things happen, encouraged them to analyse the root cause, take corrective action, and understand why it went wrong in the first place. At a practice level, notice what isn’t recorded, take the time to investigate the little things, helping to notice small errors which could lead to bigger issues down the line. He suggested that for every 300 near misses, there are 3,000 unsafe acts, behaviours, or conditions – so keeping track of and learning from these events will help to prevent bigger incidents.
He also suggested practices take a team approach to patient safety. As part of Project Sphere, it’s recommended to complete huddle sheets with your team. These should be daily, following an incident, to reflect on lessons learned. These will help your dental team to regularly evaluate their approach to patient safety, and assess any changes made and lessons learned after a patient safety event occurs.
By encouraging a positive culture change, you can reduce loss of confidence in your practice, increase positive outcomes and ensure your dental team members feel valued. Be sure to celebrate your team’s wins, whether that’s in person, or via social media, you can strengthen your team and encourage a positive work environment. It is worthwhile to take part in team events, such as book swaps and mental health week, and remember that looking after your dental nurses is key.
Dr Wong also recommended that dental practices build a system to reinforce patient safety messaging. This might include: conducting a 5-minute huddle every day, opening a recording system, giving the dental team the freedom to speak up, having a duty of candour, and allowing your team to speak truth to power. Remember that it’s vital to ensure you are following the correct procedures through indemnity providers, and not turning to social media for advice.
Tesa, a delegate at Dentistry Show London, commented:
“Jason Wong was an engaging speaker. The topic of the session was very important and I support the message. I have found the show very interesting so far.”
Dentistry Show London provided delegates with the opportunity to access education on the most important issues in dentistry from expert speakers and discuss with colleagues, as well as discover the latest developments in dental technology. Speaking on his experience with the show, Dr Wong added:
“Dentistry Show London’s communication in preparation for my session was really good and the team were very efficient. They were able to accommodate inviting Joise last minute to speak as part of my session too.”
Dentistry Show London 2023 will be held on Friday 6th and Saturday 7th October. Visit london.dentistryshow.co.uk for the latest details
