FOR some children, going to the dentist is so terrifying they have to be put to sleep.

But a Southampton clinic which provides this service is closing its doors today, forcing hundreds of vulnerable youngsters to travel to other towns for care.

The Special Care Dental Service at Southampton General Hospital offers treatment under general anaesthetic to around 800 children who have learning difficulties or are too scared to visit ordinary practices.

Hospital chiefs have told provider Solent NHS Trust to move out so they can expand their eye surgery unit.

Efforts to find another space in the hospital have stalled, meaning the centre shuts today without a new home.

Families will have to travel to Basingstoke, Portsmouth or Winchester until a site is found because nearby clinics cannot administer general anaesthetic.

It is hoped a new location will be found by the end of the month.

Dawn Condon, from Woolston, whose five-year-old granddaughter uses the service, said: “I’m just appalled, not only for myself but also for the vulnerable people in Southampton having to travel to Basingstoke or Portsmouth for treatment.

“That’s not good and it’s not going to be cost-effective either.

“I work in a special needs school and a lot of our children go there to have treatment.”

She added: “The service is amazing and so accessible for working parents. It’s very child friendly.

"I don’t think they have thought this through at all.”

Solent NHS Trust has apologised to families affected.

Mandy Sambrook, operations director for the trust’s Countywide Care Group, said: “We would like to emphasise that we are not moving out of the hospital due to financial reasons.

"We were initially asked by our landlord, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (UHS), to vacate their premises.

“However, we have been working with them to find alternative accommodation in the hospital for this service and we are hopeful of a solution by the end of April 2016.

“As an interim measure we will be offering children an alternative provision across Hampshire in Portsmouth, Winchester and Basingstoke.

"Our staff who provide this aspect of paediatric dental care will be redeployed to these locations, where they will continue to provide high quality care to our patients.”

A UHS spokesman said it had offered operating theatre space to Solent but was waiting for confirmation of a start date.

Anyone worried by the changes is asked to contact Solent’s Patients Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) on 0800 013 2319.

Specialist dental care at the hospital’s John Atwell Day Ward is unaffected.