DENTISTS across the county are being forced to ditch more than 300 NHS patients a month.

People are also finding it increasingly difficult to obtain NHS dental care in some parts of East Lancashire.

The shock figures claim that 41,790 patients in the county have been "de-registered" in the past two and a half years.

The bulk of almost 320 patients a month being dumped by dentists are adults, but the total figure includes 447 children.

According to the statistics, released by the Liberal Democrats, dentists in the UK are ditching NHS patients at the rate of two per minute.

The figures support the Lancashire Evening Telegraph's revelation in January that health bosses in East Lancashire are battling to prevent a breakdown in NHS dentistry.

Floods of practitioners are turning their backs on the NHS with the remainder struggling to cope with excessive demands for treatment.

A spokesman for the East Lancashire Local Dental Committee today blamed Government changes for the increasing difficulty in people obtaining NHS treatment. A drain of NHS dentistry has taken place since Whitehall cut fees for NHS treatment by 7 per cent in 1992.

He said dentists in certain areas of Lancashire had "made a statement" by actively de-registering NHS patients.

But he said: "Patients who have been de-registered can still seek alternative NHS treatment. Burnley is an area of concern at the moment because it is becoming difficult to find an NHS dentist."

East Lancashire Health Authority is considering ways of tackling the problem, but it has already failed to recruit a salaried dentist's post in Burnley.

A health authority spokeswoman said: "The figure of about 300 a month is about right.

"A high proportion of them might be from East Lancashire, but it is difficult to measure as the situation changes from week to week.

"We have tried to recruit a salaried dentist and we are also considering sponsoring NHS dental practices."

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Simon Hughes backed calls for a grant system to encourage dentists to take up NHS practice.

He said: "Dentists are having to tell their patients to go private or go elsewhere.

"Since the Government changed their payments, dentists have lost commitment to the NHS."

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