Consultant special care dentist, Mili Doshi from East Surrey Hospital was awarded NHS Innovator of the Year at the Kent, Surrey, Sussex NHS Leadership Recognition Awards 2015 held at Sandown Park yesterday (12 November).
Mili’s award recognises her innovative Mouth Care Matters programme that has seen the introduction of a specialist Mouth Care Matters team to provide training to all Hospital staff so that patients receive good mouth care during their stay at East Surrey Hospital. The hospital, which is run by Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust (SASH), is the first in the country to have a Mouth Care Matters Team on its wards.
“I am thrilled to have won the award as it raises awareness of good mouth care, which is important for a patient’s dignity, ability to eat and drink and general health.
I am so proud of the Mouth Care Matters team who are now making a real difference to improving the oral health of our patients – giving them a better quality of life and helping to reduce the risk of infections such a as pneumonia and hence shorten Hospital stays,” explained Mili.
The Mouth Care Matters programme, developed by Mili, is being funded by Health Education England, Kent, Surrey and Sussex, and will be introduced into hospitals across the south east of England over the next year. Discussions are also underway for a national roll-out too.
Michael Wilson, chief executive, SASH, said:
“I am delighted that the hard work and commitment that Mili has invested in developing this programme, training the team and putting the care in place has been acknowledged with this important award.
“Every day I am proud of the care that the teams at SASH provide and always keen to support ideas and initiatives that our specialist clinicians and teams have that continue to improve and extend the high quality care we provide for local people. The fact that one of these ideas has the potential to be adopted nationally is fantastic and a real testament to Mili and her team.”
