Step 1 - Have a Management Strategy for Oral Cancer in Your Practice.
The objectives laid out in your strategy should include robust mouth cancer check for every patient, talking to and educating your patients about the disease and training your team to deliver an oral cancer service. The end goal is that every team member is confident in their role within your oral cancer service, that your patients can see that you are safeguarding their oral and systemic health and very importantly that you are meeting your duty of care to do so.
Step 2 - Clarifying Each Team Member’s Role and Responsibilities
Every member of your dental team has a role to play in the early detection of oral cancer in your practice. From triaging on reception to a robust intra and extra-oral mouth cancer check in surgery, everyone needs to sign up to their responsibilities. Decide what each person's role should be and build these responsibilities into their job description. When signing a contract of employment, an individual is agreeing to the details of their job description and has a legal obligation to carry out the tasks listed. As with any other strategic plan, every team member needs to buy into achieving the objectives. If one link in the chain is broken, the strategy is likely to fail.
Step 3 - Train All Staff to Talk About the 'C' Word.
Do you talk to your patients about ‘oral cancer' when you are checking them for it? Do your reception team know how to answer questions sensitively and appropriately if patients ask about oral cancer? And do your dental nurses know how to support a patient if a referral is made for suspected oral cancer? If the answer to any of these questions is 'No' then I would suggest training your team to talk about oral cancer.
