Widow's sympathy as dental patients left 'in limbo'

A WOMAN whose dentist husband allegedly defrauded patients of more than £1m before his death has voiced her sympathy for those left untreated.

- CONOR GOGARTY

The late Dr David Hurst ran a clinic which is now facing legal action from 20 patients.

Dr David Hurst, from Dinas Powys in the Vale of Glamorgan, was convicted of fraud in Wales in 2012 before moving to Australia, where he opened a clinic in Perth.

He died suddenly last December at the age of 43, leaving his practice in a dire financial state, with 132 untreated patients reportedly “in limbo”.

We previously reported allegations that the dentist, who was Perth Dental Rooms’ sole director, withdrew “significant funds from the company in excess of profits earned” According to the liquidator, he extracted 2.3m Australian dollars (£1.12m) from patients’ prepayments and left debts of £1.67m to unsecured creditors.

Law firm Slater & Gordon says it is representing 20 of Dr Hurst's former patients, who were allegedly persuaded to dip into their retirement savings for “expensive and often unnecessary” treatments - some forking out more than £33,000 for procedures that never took place, according to the firm.

Widow Dr Clara Hurst, who runs a cosmetic injectables clinic in Perth, has now said: “In my capacity as executor of the estate, I have received numerous potential claims in relation to my late husband's dental practice.