The Oral Care Link Nurse: a facilitator and educator for maintaining oral health for patients at the Royal Hospital for neuro-disability.

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This paper describes an ongoing oral health education project developed and implemented at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability (RHN) by the Dental Team. The Oral Care Link Nurse (OCLN) project was developed to assist the dental team in the promotion of oral care within the hospital. The Dental Team identified that, in addition to providing knowledge and skills to perform effective oral care, it is important that nursing staff retain positive attitudes and behavior toward providing that care. In conjunction with the Quality Assurance department, oral care guidelines were introduced throughout the hospital, with further input being focused on the training of at least one unqualified nursing auxiliary from each ward. These became the OCLN who were trained by the Dental Team to assist with the promotion of good oral care practices on the wards and to aid communication regarding patient oral health within the multidisciplinary team. Formal evaluation, by clinical audit, indicated that the project continued to improve the overall standard of oral care throughout the hospital. To ensure that this high standard continues, it is essential that continued support, commitment, and enthusiasm be given from the dental team and that support is constant.