Pregnant Mum Denied Free Maternity Dental Care

Mon, 27 Apr 2009

A mother-to-be has been refused maternity dental treatment after being told to provide more proof of her condition.

Despite having a doctor's certificate, ante-natal notes, ultra-sound pictures of her unborn child and a pronounced 'bump', 27-year-old Sarah Luisis was turned away from the St John's dental practice in Romford because she did not have a special Maternity Exemption Certificate.

The mother of one from Hornchurch, Essex, is desperate to see a dentist for her painful bleeding gums, which she fears has caused an infection.

But the part-time admin worker says she cannot pay the £40 fee for the initial appointment and further fees for treatment and is reliant on maternity cover from the NHS .

Luisis, who is five months pregnant, has been on the waiting list to see a dentist for the past ten weeks.

She was recently told an appointment had finally become available, but was then shocked to find out that she had been denied treatment because she didn't have a Maternity Exemption Certificate to prove her pregnancy .

She said: "I filled out a form to get the certificate when I found out I was pregnant. But I've now found out that though the form was sent, it was never received in Newcastle, where the certificates are issued."

"I now have to fill out another form, but that could take up to four weeks to be approved.''

"I've a letter from my doctor confirming my pregnancy, my ante-natal notes, ultra-sound scans and I'm very big for five months. You'd think that would be enough."

She added: "People seem to of missed the point entirely, it's not a case of being able to afford treatment, it's the principle. I am entitled to it so why am I being refused?"

A spokesman for the dental surgery said the policy regarding the certificate comes from the Havering Primary Care Trust .

"It's not up to us. We're taking instructions from the Trust," he commented.
add to favouritesnewsletterlink to this pagesend to friendpost comments

Link to this page

Copy and Paste the following HTML into your page.

Health cover, life insurance and PMIProtect Your Health

Find Critical illness, Life and Private Medical Insurance PMI policies.

Save money on your mortgageSave on Your Mortgage

Would you like to save money on your mortgage? Fill out our quick mortgage enquiry form