A DENTAL surgery is under investigation by health officials after its NHS patients complained they were being advised to switch to a private insurance scheme.

Troubleshooters from NHS North Staffordshire have twice visited the Westbury Park practice in Clayton, after patients brought their grievances to the primary care trust's (PCT) public liaison service.

The surgery is paid by the PCT to carry out nearly 20,000 treatments a year on NHS patients – but it also sees people privately under the Denplan national insurance programme, which costs around £20 a month.

Linda Riley, PCT associate chief executive, said: "Patients told the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) that although they were registered as NHS patients, Westbury Park dental practice was advising them to go to the private side of the practice for treatment.

"We informed our dental adviser and primary care colleagues who are currently investigating this issue.

"We have now been assured that an action plan has been drawn up to address it and since then no other remarks have been made to us."

The intervention was welcomed by a Newcastle health watchdog group, which hailed the outcome as a victory for the NHS procedure set up to liaise between services and patients.

Hilda Johnson, a member of the borough's health scrutiny sub-committee, said: "This shows that PALS at the PCT is working effectively and people can take their concerns there in full confidence and that they will be properly looked into.

"But PALS can't possibly know what is happening on the ground at every service, so it is important patients come forward and tell them about any problems they are having."

The PCT, which covers Newcastle and the Staffordshire Moorlands, issues reports every two months on how well the area's 35 dentists are performing on their NHS contracts.

The latest report shows for the first six months of the financial year, Westbury Park practice has carried out 40.6 per cent of the 19,504 treatments being funded for the full year.

Senior Westbury Park practice partner Tom Dickerson was not available for comment yesterday.