Team working among dental professionals in Wales is being supported with a resource launched by Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW). The Skills Optimiser Self-Evaluation Tool (SOSET)1 encourages dental teams to put teamwork at the forefront of their approach to delivering effective oral healthcare.

Research suggests that 73% of treatment in general dental practices could be carried out by DCPs - dental nurses, hygienists, therapists, and technicians - freeing up dentists' time to provide advanced care to patients with more complex needs. The SOSET matrix is a document designed to be introduced to dental practices by an HEIW Quality Improvement Educator. The QI educator involves the whole team in a discussion. SOSET is designed to encourage the attainment of goals, better communication through self-reflection and to help teams find gaps where improvements can be made.

HEIW was established on 1 October 2018. It is a special health authority within NHS Wales which amalgamated three key organisations for health: the Wales Deanery; NHS Wales's Workforce Education and Development Services (WEDS); and the Wales Centre for Pharmacy Professional Education (WCPPE).

Sitting alongside health boards and trusts, HEIW has a leading role in the education, training, development, and shaping of the healthcare workforce in Wales. Its key functions include education and training, workforce development and modernisation, leadership development, strategic workforce planning, workforce intelligence, careers, and widening access.

SOSET's approach of delegation and maximising skills within the team fits in with the Welsh Government's ambitions for prudent healthcare, giving patients more time to see the appropriate dentist or DCP.

Kathryn Marshall, Quality Improvement Educator at HEIW, said: 'Making sure that dental team members (other than dentists) are able to work to their maximum skill level frees up clinical capacity elsewhere in the team.'

'Dental practitioners will have more time and availability to improve patient access to other treatment needs such as restorative, endodontics, and paediatric dentistry. Patients will benefit from experiencing a step up in prevention, making use of a dental service that is fit for purpose for future generations, and care from a skilled and motivated dental team.' Further information can be found at https://heiw.nhs.wales/.