"Community dental Daisy Hill"

My son was given an General anaesthetic for tooth extraction today.

The team in Daisy Hill were wonderful with him today and we are very grateful for their support.

As he is autistic a General anaesthetic and all the associated sensory stimulation is very overwhelming for him.  They were understanding as a team and helped as best they could, especially as he was very distressed when the anaesthetic was wearing off.  

However, we were told that only one parent would be allowed into theatres with him in advance, so my wife went alone and I waited outside in the car.  Due to his autism and the circumstances today he was very distressed both before and after the extraction.  The theatre staff offered to call me to allow me to come in as they were happy for 2 parents due to our circumstances and our son's autism, despite what we were told in advance.  However, it was too late and as a result was very distressing for my wife as she attempted to manage him alone.

So, whilst we had a very positive experience with the staff in Daisy Hill and they were very kind and understanding, it could possibly be made clear in future to parents that if there are exceptional circumstances, such as an autistic child, then 2 parents can be permitted as this would have made the whole experience for my wife and son better.