Role of the dental hospital-based paediatric liaison nurse in safeguarding children

Aim: Service evaluation of our dental hospital paediatric liaison nursing (DH-PLN) service which provides an additional route for information sharing about safeguarding concerns via an agreed pathway for two-way communication with public health nurses.

Method: Retrospective analysis of clinical records of all children referred by DH teams to PLN in the three months October-December 2016.

Results: One hundred and four children were referred; mean age was 6.2 years, 89.4% from Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) quintiles 4 and 5, and 70.2% were attending for dental general anaesthesia. The most common referral reason was dental neglect in 66.3%, followed by missed appointments in 50.0%. The PLN checked child health databases and shared information with health visitors and school nurses (46.2% and 53.8% respectively). Feedback retrieved included known child maltreatment risk factors in 7.7%. This prompted additional child protection referrals to children's social services for seven children (6.7%). Dental outcomes six months later were: treatment complete in 50.0%, treatment ongoing 28.8%, discharged to original referrer with treatment incomplete in 21.1%.

Conclusion: This DH-PLN service promotes integrated multidisciplinary working, helping overcome barriers to dentistry's involvement in safeguarding. It facilitates more accurate assessments of risk of harm to children receiving dental care and prompts additional child protection referrals to social services.