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.
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, a 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The dentist, who was Perth Dental Rooms’ sole director, appeared to have withdrawn “significant funds from the company in excess of profits earned”, liquidator Bryan Hughes told the Sunday Times.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. The General Dental Council told WalesOnline he appeared before a professional conduct committee in January 2014 and a month later was barred from practising as a dentist in the UK.
Dr Hurst reportedly lived in Australia between 2009 and 2012 before making a permanent move there in 2013. Applicants for dental registration in Australia are required to disclose their criminal history but the country’s healthcare regulator refused to tell the Sunday Times whether it knew about Dr Hurst’s conviction when he was re-registered in 2013.
“Dr Hurst was first registered in Australia in 2009 by Queensland authorities,” said a spokesperson for the Australian regulator. “He was re-registered by the dental board of Australia in 2013 when he returned to Australia from the United Kingdom. At the time Dr Hurst applied for registration he was still registered as a dentist in the UK.”
The Wales court case heard Dr Hurst had made a series of fraudulent band three claims — the highest-value NHS dental treatment — between June 2006 and February 2007. He paid back the full £15,584 to the NHS and an extra £12,991 for legal costs.
He was sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment suspended for two years and 200 hours of unpaid work. Judge Nicholas Gareth Jones told him: “Milking the NHS will not be tolerated, particularly when NHS public funding is stretched.”
The Sunday Times reports that Dr Hurst insisted all his Perth patients paid their fees up front. Some paid tens of thousands for implants and other expensive procedures last year but now face having to fork out again because of the company’s collapse. Several have spoken out about struggling with severe pain for months.
“There are just victims everywhere you look in this horrible mess,” said Mr Hughes. “Drawing on patient prepayments in advance of earning them has left a very large financial deficit. That financial deficit is causing enormous personal suffering for many patients.”
According to the liquidator £2m was extracted from the business by Dr Hurst in the past 18 months. Profits over the same period were said to be £1.31m. In total the company is reported to owe around £2.34m.
Mr Hughes said he had no knowledge of where Dr Hurst put the funds but that a bankruptcy trustee could help trace them. The practice is being sold to a new owner and the company is set to recoup proceeds from the sale. But the patients were unsecured creditors and the Sunday Times reports that it is unclear whether they will get any of their money back.
Perth Dental Rooms said in an announcement last December: “It is with a heavy heart that we share the news of the passing of our beloved principal dentist and owner David Hurst. His unwavering dedication to our patients and the practice has left a lasting impact and he will be profoundly missed by all who knew him.
“We want to assure our valued patients that Perth Dental Rooms will continue to operate and our commitment to providing exceptional dental care remains our highest priority. For those currently receiving treatment from Dr Hurst we will be reaching out to you directly to ensure a smooth transition and continuity of care. We kindly ask that you keep the Hurst family in your thoughts and prayers.”