A BLACKBURN dentist lost a High Court appeal after he was struck off for treating patients without proper insurance.

Last year, Holger Held, who practised at the Netherwood Dental Surgery in Preston New Road, was found by the General Dental Council to have been working without indemnity cover, and was struck off the dental register.

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Mr Held launched an appeal against that decision, saying the regulator’s Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) hearing was ‘conducted contrary to the rules of natural justice in that my failure to attend and give oral evidence counted against me’, that the committee failed to challenge evidence provided by the NHS, and that the decision was disproportionate.

But His Honour Judge Stephen Davies backed the ruling.

He added: “Whilst I accept that a decision to suspend rather than to erase was a decision which another PCC might have come to, particularly perhaps if Mr Held had been in a position to demonstrate his appreciation of the seriousness of his misconduct, and his genuine determination and ability not to repeat that conduct, this court cannot properly interfere with the decision to erase.”