"Our daughter's treatment"

Our daughter is in her 30s and lives with Dravet Syndrome, which consists of Epilepsy, Autism and Learning Disability. She is non-verbal and has been housebound for over two years due to severe anxiety. She had been indicating something wrong with her nose/mouth and we suspected increasing pain. She would not cooperate with anyone trying to examine her mouth and numerous professionals dismissed our concerns, diagnosing it as a habit.

We persisted in advocating for her to have this obvious discomfort investigated and eventually we were put in contact with Jacqueline, Stobhill Community Dental Nurse, who recognised how desperate and frustrated we were and arranged to come out with dentist Mrs Bhatt that afternoon to see our daughter.

Their obvious experience with special care needs and their friendly manner enabled them to examine our daughter and identify a problem with her teeth. Jacqueline immediately started an urgent case for day surgery under general anaesthetic in the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley. She also referred our daughter to ENT and organised a team to coordinate with the dental team.

The first appointment was cancelled due to the Community Dental Service having their theatre allocation reduced from 4 days per month to only 1 day per month. Our daughter was rated urgent and another appointment was quickly booked. This involved multiple teams of people and the attention to detail was impressive.

We were extremely concerned that our daughter would not manage to attend on the day, however she surprised us all and everything happened as planned. The dedication of the Special Care Needs dental team in advocating for those who do not have a voice is outstanding! Our daughter’s life was a misery, and we were so helpless because she couldn’t tell us how she felt.

We are so thankful for the experience and professionalism of Jacqueline, who recognised the seriousness of this situation.

The Learning Disability Team liaised with the hospital and created a detailed care plan. Amy and Marie came to the house at 7am to help us at home and on arrival at the hospital. They kept the hospital informed of our progress, allowing us to concentrate on our daughter.

Their practical support was vital and very much appreciated by us and they were instrumental in achieving a calm and successful outcome. Their concern for our daughter’s situation was genuine, and they went above and beyond to help make this stressful experience less frightening as possible for her.

We are in awe of the efforts of everyone involved in helping our daughter.