“I don’t want to see him suffer – it’s not fair”
The mother of a child with additional needs has said she “nearly fell off the floor” when she was told her little boy could wait a full year – crying in pain – for dental work.
Clare McGinnis’ nine-year-old son Olly is non-verbal and has been diagnosed with autism and global developmental delays. For more than a week now he has been “screaming in pain” due to a dental problem and, after being advised he will require a tooth extraction, Clare said she was told the waiting period for the procedure could be as much as 12 months.
The Co Derry mum is now calling for health authorities to prioritise children with additional needs, who often face long delays for dental treatment due to a requirement for anaesthesia.
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The Western Trust, meanwhile, say patients will be triaged on the “basis of need” and emphasised that children who do not respond to medication such as pain relief or antibiotics will be prioritised.
Clare McGinnis, who lives in Strathfoyle on the outskirts of Derry city, said Olly often finds it difficult to see a dentist due to his autism.
“Basically, because of his autism, he just becomes stressed in a clinical sort of setting,” she explained. “He goes to a community dentist and it’s normally in the Waterside.”
His dental problems began just over a week ago.
“I had rang to make an appointment because he had been pointing at his jaw and just shouting and screaming,” Clare said. “He was very distressed and he was having quite a lot of meltdowns. It wasn’t like him. I knew that there was something up, so I rang last Monday for an appointment and they gave me an appointment for Friday, but they rang me last Wednesday to cancel.”
In the meantime, little Olly was in severe pain as his mum continued to attempt to get an appointment to have the problem looked at. Finally, Clare was able to take her son to see a dentist. She arrived with Olly, armed with sensory toys and a toothbrush so that her boy would allow the dentist to look in his mouth.
She said the staff were “brilliant” and “lovely” at the community dentist.
Sadly, the only solution to Olly’s pain was to have a tooth removed. But she was advised he could wait as much as a year for the procedure to be carried out.
“I nearly fell off the floor,” Clare said. “He hasn’t stopped screaming for a week, to the extent that my mummy had to come down to give me a break – just so I could go and take a shower. There’s just no working with him, you know, he’s just screaming because he’s in pain.
“I don’t want to see him suffer. It’s not fair. He’s been going around the house the whole week with a towel over his face. Summer scheme has been cancelled. Swimming has been cancelled. These are for his sensory needs and he’s missing out now because he’s suffering in pain.”
She has also expressed concern about the impact to his diet which, as is often the case for children with autism, is limited.
“His diet isn’t bad, he doesn’t eat junk, but it is limited,” she said. “It really is a worry, and we’re into week two now of the constant pain and the crying.”
Following several phone calls and desperate appeals to health professionals, Clare was eventually offered an appointment around eight weeks away.
“I am probably quite lucky with that, but it is eight weeks of suffering,” she said. “It is just not good enough. He’s crying and he’s showing me his mouth, and he’s looking at me like ‘why aren’t you fixing this’. That’s the worst thing.”
The Co Derry mum has also explored the possibility of seeking treatment privately, but has been unable to find a clinic offering the treatment due to the requirement for anaesthesia.
She added: “If the waiting list is a year, or even eight weeks, how many other families are in this position? No child should be going through this. I believe children with additional needs should be prioritised.”
Belfast Live approached the Western Trust for comment on Wednesday morning. On Wednesday afternoon, Clare said the Trust were in touch to offer an appointment for the next day following a “cancellation”.
A Spokesperson for the Western Health and Social Care Trust (Western Trust) said: “We understand the stress of having a neurodivergent child in dental pain causes and Community Dental staff will go above and beyond to enable their timely treatment. Consideration will also be given to adding these children to the waiting list for our paediatric extraction lists ( if appropriate) and it is important to note that our waiting lists are triaged on need rather than the date in which the patient has been added. Cancellation appointments will also be offered to patients who are in acute pain or distress.”
“For children where the pain does not respond to antibiotics and pain relief or where the child has repeated patterns of this, staff will do their best to get them onto a dental theatre list. The lists are booked up to four weeks ahead.”
The Trust spokesperson continued: “Currently we have one paediatric surgery list a week in Altnagelvin (5 patients accommodated) for extractions only and 3 lists a month in Altnagelvin for those with additional needs for comprehensive dental care (2 patients accommodated at each session).
“The Trust is continuously striving to improve the waiting times for inpatient and Day case procedures for children and young people and we apologise to our patients and families who are waiting longer than we would like for treatment.”
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