Mother's anger after son's teeth pulled without consent

Published on Thursday 18 June 2009 10:34

THE mother of a teenager with learning disabilities has received an apology after dentists removed eight of his teeth without permission.

The woman, who cannot be named, complained after her son was caused so much distress that he bit his lip with the remaining teeth to the point that a large, infected sore developed.

She also said the 19-year-old had a phobia of the dentist and still shrieked the words "dentist – sore" 18 months after the treatment, as well as resisting when she attempted to clean his teeth for him.

NHS Lothian has now formally apologised to the woman – referred to in the report as Mrs C – and vowed to learn from the experience after the investigation by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.

Mrs C initially attended St John's Hospital in Livingston in May 2007 with her son – who doesn't have the mental capacity to make his own decisions, meaning she must be informed and consulted on medical and dental procedures.

She claimed that she did not have the chance to decide on the scale of work that was undertaken on her son, and was under the impression he would only be having one tooth removed, on her request so she could clean his teeth more easily. Because of her son's condition, the only realistic option for a proper oral examination was under general anaesthetic. This meant planned work to carry out root removal work could also go ahead.

While Mrs C was told additional work would probably be needed at some stage, she was not told about the eight additional teeth being taken out until the work was done.

She said such a large volume of work should have been spread over a period of time, and that the impact of all the surgery made her job as a carer significantly more difficult, as well as causing her son considerable upset.

NHS Lothian's argument at the time was placing such a patient under general anaesthetic was a "real risk" and that doing as much as possible while he was in such a vulnerable state seemed the sensible approach. However, a full apology has now been issued after the intervention of the Ombudsman.

Melanie Hornett, the health board's director of nursing, said: "I would like to apologise to Mrs C for any distress caused to her and her family.

"This case highlights the importance of good communication and record-keeping. We accept the recommendations in the report and these are now being acted on.

"It should be acknowledged that the report finds no criticism of the clinical treatment provided.

"NHS Lothian always takes complaints made very seriously."