A CANCER patient has been forced to pay for private dental treatment as there are no NHS dentist places left in Rochdale.

John Murray, of Healey Hall Farm, was frustrated when he contacted NHS Direct and the Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Primary Care Trust, only to be told he would have to travel to Middleton or Bury to receive care.

He said: "I have recently been receiving treatment for a serious illness and this has had a detrimental effect on my dental health.

"Following many phone calls, the end result is that there are no dentists in the Rochdale area offering NHS treatment to new patients.

"The only advice I was offered was to keep trying by constantly ringing around dentists randomly in the forlorn hope that they may have had a cancellation."

The 55-year-old was eventually forced to go private, paying almost £80 for a check-up, but he can’t afford to pay for any more treatment.

He added: "When I phoned the PCT, they weren’t even prepared to collate the data on people who need a dentist and try and find one for them.

"I wasn’t offered any help and I was simply advised to keep trying myself."

Patients have claimed that dentistry in the town is in ‘crisis’ with thousands of people unable to access services with no NHS dentist places left in the town.

After seeing the statistics, Rochdale MP Paul Rowen called for more NHS dentists to tackle the problem.

He said: "These findings do not surprise me at all. It is clear that there are still too few NHS dentists.

"We’ve all seen the horror stories of residents queuing in all weathers, at all times just to get an NHS dentist. It is quite clear that although progress is being made, more needs to be done urgently.

"Last year I opened the new dental practice in Littleborough and I am backing them to get the funding to open up another surgery there."

The Featherstall Road surgery, launched by Dr Khalid Mushtaq in November, was fully subscribed when it was opened by Mr Rowen in November.

Vivienne Ben-David, head of primary care at Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Primary Care Trust, said: "We empathise with Mr Murray’s situation and understand the frustration he must be feeling.

"However, there may be other options available to him, such as domiciliary dental visits, which our Patient And Liaison Service team can assist with.

"We have identified that dental access needs to be significantly improved in Rochdale and so have secured additional provision to help us do this."