Borders Ref Help Toolkit
Those who meet our acceptance criteria will be allocated to a dedicated Oral Health Support Worker (OHSW).
The five OHI programmes accept referrals for the following patient categories:
- Under 16’s
- Dependent older adults, particularly but not limited to those in care homes
- Those aged 16-64 with additional care needs
- those with experience of the justice system
- People experiencing homelessness (note, this is not limited to only rough sleeping
The OHSW will plan to discuss the referral with the patient (or most appropriate person) and how we can assist. This discussion can take various forms, to best meet the needs of the individual patient and the service:
- Home visit
- Telephone call
- Text messaging
- Appointment at a community setting, e.g. a local health centre or library
The OHSW is unable to provide:
- Transport to appointments - we can assist with information on other modes of transport that may be available to you.
- Clinical assessment of any oral health condition.
- Urgent dental assessment or care.
- Funding for your dental treatment – we can provide further information on exemption from NHS Dental Charges Help with health costs | NHS Inform
Referrals to the OHI department are accepted from:
- Self-referrals from patients/parents/carers/welfare guardians
- Early learning & childcare and education staff
- NHS professionals - including Health Visitors, School Nurses and Acute Care
- General Dental Practitioners and their support staff
- Public Dental Service clinical and support staff
- Criminal Justice Service Social Work Dept
- Social Care sector – including care at home providers, day centre staff and care home staff
- Third sector community services
Who not to refer:
The OHI department cannot accept referrals for those residents out with the boundaries of the NHS Borders catchment area.
We cannot provide pharmacological support for dental anxiety. All clinical referrals must be submitted via the appropriate PDS service (see individual specialty guidance).
How to refer:
Please either request referral forms and/or submitted completed referral forms to
- For under 16’s, please refer to Childsmile bord-uhb.childsmile@borders.scot.nhs.uk
- For over 16’s, please refer to our adult priority groups team bord-uhb.caring4smiles@borders.scot.nhs.uk who will assign your enquiry to the appropriate adult OHI programme from.
Adult cases which fall outside the specific remit of each programme will still be considered on a case-by-case basis. The department welcomes all enquiries.
Note – it is the referrer’s responsibility to ensure their email is securely transmitted.
We will also accept telephone or post referrals from those unable to access or complete the referral online.
Information required on all referrals:
- Please complete a separate referral form for all members of a household being referred. We cannot accept multiple patients on the same form.
- Patient personal details including full name, DOB and address.
- Where applicable - details of person(s) with parental responsibility, welfare guardian, POA, or equivalent.
- Reason for referral – give as much detail as possible.
- Consent for referral.
- Any known PMAV risks associated with the patient or household.
- Any significant medical/social history. Note – full medical history will be requested for domiciliary assessment purposes.
Discharge criteria:
Patients will be discharged if any of the following criteria are met:
- Unable to contact the patient/parent or for assessment of needs.
- Patient declines input from our service.
- Patient is deemed by OHI staff to no longer require input.
In all cases, another referral would be considered on submission.