Dentist who defrauded Welsh NHS dies - leaving a trail of desperate patients

A WELSH dentist who defrauded the NHS went on to run a clinic in Australia where he allegedly extracted large sums in patient prepayments before his death.

- CONOR GOGARTY

Dr David Hurst, from Dinas Powys in the Vale of Glamorgan, was handed a suspended jail term in 2012 after admitting 69 counts of theft from the NHS.

At the time, Cardiff Crown Court heard he had stolen £15,584 by submitting claims containing forged patient declarations while working at the Bridgend Dental Centre in Nolton Street.

The Sunday Times newspaper in western Australia reports that Dr Hurst died by suicide last December at the age of 43, allegedly leaving his Perth dental practice in a dire financial state with 132 untreated patients “in limbo”.

The dentist, who was Perth Dental Rooms' sole director, appeared to have withdrawn “significant funds from the company in excess of profits earned”, liquidator Bryan Hughes told the Sunday Times. It is alleged that Dr Hurst extracted 2.3m Australian dollars (£1.12m) of patients' prepayments and that unsecured creditors were owed a total of £1,676,578.

The controversy has raised questions over how Dr Hurst was allowed to lead an Australian dental clinic in light of his conviction in the UK.

An NHS investigation into the Bridgend fraud started in February 2007 but he was not sentenced until late 2012.