Austism Spectrum disorder and dental service provision, Stockton on Tees
Download (PDF 501.95 KB)Summary of report content
In December 2016 Healthwatch Stockton-on-Tees designed a survey relating to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Dental Service Provision in the local area. The rationale behind this was due to recent engagement activities, where a number of individuals and professionals working within the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Sector (VCSE) have fed back concerns with the accessibility and care provided by the dentists for people diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Stockton-On-Tees.
They worked in partnership with other organisations including Daisy Chain and Stockton United for Change (SUFC) to distribute it and collect responses to find out if this was a wider problem.
A total of 30 questionnaires were completed containing a range of both positive and negative responses from individuals, family members and carers of registered patients at dental practices in Stockton-on-Tees. The majority of feedback received found that individuals with Autism, their family members and carers are happy with the service they receive from their dental practice in Stockton-on-Tees. It was found that access to and availability of appointments was usually good and that generally all patient needs were met. Some suggestions made for improvement included: reducing the length of waiting times, offer of a quiet room and distractions whist waiting to be seen, keep patients and family members informed of any changes, make sure all practices are wheelchair accessible and to ensure the patients have a regular dentist for each appointment.