Referrals for Sedation and General Anaesthetics

All oral surgery referrals are clinically triaged and are sent to the level of care appropriate to the treatment required. Indicating sedation or GA does NOT guarantee it’s provision and it cannot be demanded by a patient.

General anaesthetic is not available for healthy adults undergoing routine procedures. Please ensure this is made clear to the patient when they are referred.

Sedation is considered a second course of treatment and is therefore chargeable at Band 2; this is in addition to any other charge taken at the time of referral. Further details can be found here

The availability of sedation is varied across the NHS and may not be available for all types of referral - for example some areas will provide sedation for oral surgery, but not restorative. 

In some areas the provision of sedation is for Special Care patients or children only.  Please review the directory of services for your area to see what services are available.

IOSN

The IOSN form is presented for most sedation and GA referrals. It is designed to assess the patient on their:

  • Medical complexity
  • Treatment complexity
  • Degree of anxiety

You can find out more about the IOSN and its use in assessing sedation need here.