A DENTIST from East Lancashire today told how he had quit the NHS and gone private after revealing he was being forced to make clinical judgements on financial grounds.

Dr Damian Allen said he was concerned that standards were in danger of falling under the health service.

And he told how he had failed to attract an associate to share his work -- despite eight months of advertising.

Dr Allen said: "Under the NHS there is a set fee and only a certain amount of time to do the work required.

"I found I was looking in a patient's mouth and making clinical decisions based on financial grounds and available treatment rather than on what was best for the patient."

Dr Allen, who has had his Rawtenstall surgery in Bacup Road for 10 years, said another factor in his decision to resign from the NHS was the lack of response to advertisements for an associate to share the work.

His former associate left eight months ago to start his own NHS practice, but since then no-one has been interested in taking on the position.

Dr Allen said he had been doing the work of two dentists and waiting times at his practice have lengthened.

Dental nurse Samantha Hodgson said no-one had applied for the job because dentists wanted to work in private practices not NHS surgeries.

Dr Allen said: "I take the individual care of each patient very seriously, but under the NHS it was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain quality of service." Patients of NHS dentists receive subsidised treatment. Now patients at Allen's will have to select a payment plan which could either be pay per treatment or sign up to Denplan which will cost between £12 to £15 a month and requires an assessment.

Children and young people below the age of 18 will still be treated under the NHS.

Dr Allen said: "My staff and I have gathered a great deal of information and many viewpoints in making these changes and we are more than happy to share that information with any of our patients who have questions."

Frank Clifford, chairman of Burnley Pendle and Rossendale Community Health Council, said he was concerned to hear about Dr Allen's decision. He said it was a further erosion of services in an already depleted area.

He said the CHC was looking into dentistry provision and would be encouraging MPs to address the weaknesses in the availability of NHS dentists.

Frank Van Russelt, spokesperson for the British Dental Association, who has a practice in Darwen, said it was high time the Government told dentists what they wanted them to do.

He said: "The Government cut NHS fees in 1992 and there has not been a fair rise since then. A lot of dentists are dedicated people who are subsidising things just so things can carry on. This is hitting their own pockets.

"Most dentists want to be part of the NHS but we fell we are being excluded."