Closure of children’s dental clinic at St James’s criticised

The Irish Dental Association has criticised the closure of a HSE-run children's dental clinic at St James's Hospital.

The clinic provided care for about 3,000 children a year needing multiple extractions under general anaesthetic but was closed at the start of this month because of concerns over the suitability of the building.

The association says the general anaesthetic clinic was closed at short notice without provision being made for alternative facilities.

The clinic was a temporary facility erected in 2003 after the previous building was demolished to make way for the Luas tram line. “The HSE has known for years that a permanent facility was required yet has simply chosen to close the clinic without putting an alternative in place,” said IDA chief executive Fintan Hourihan, adding that some children were being sent to private hospitals as an interim measure.

A failure to treat these children in a timely manner would consign them to repeat courses of antibiotics and pose an unacceptable risk to their health and the possibility of severe dental infection, he said.

“We are calling on the HSE to take action immediately. They must provide suitable alternative facilities and put appropriate funding in place to ensure that children requiring general anaesthesia are not left waiting more than a couple of weeks before receiving treatment.

The HSE spokeswoman said there were concerns about the suitability of the building as a day theatre for the provision of children’s general anaesthesia. A recent risk assessment resulted in the decision to discontinue the service.

“An alternative location for this service is being sourced at present; and normal service is expected to resume in early 2015. In the mean time, urgent cases requiring immediate treatment due to pain or swelling are being dealt with as necessary at private centres in Dublin and at no cost to the families.”

She advised parents with concerns to liaise with their local public dental clinic, particularly if their children are experiencing pain since their last assessment.

One of the parents affected by the closure of the clinic is Sinead McCrory, whose six-year-old daughter was referred to the Dental Clinic from her local HSE clinic in Clondalkin.

She had an appointment to have three teeth extracted under general anaesthetic at the St James’s clinic for the 14th August. Two days beforehand she got a call from the HSE to say the appointment was cancelled and that they would be in touch again in two to three weeks time with a new appointment.

Nine weeks later and with her daughter starting to get sporadic pain she made a follow up call. She was told that the waiting lists were huge and to go back to her local clinic in Deansrath. Her local clinic informed her that the HSE wouldn’t arrange to have the teeth extracted until her daughter was in a lot of pain.

She got a call from the HSE this week telling her how to spot swelling. The person said they were dealing with urgent cases in private hospitals and putting others on a waiting list. They said her daughter was on a waiting list and they were trying to put something in place for the New Year.