A WHITEFIELD man was forced to travel to Salford to have a tooth removed after he claims to have been refused dental treatment at a Bury surgery.

John Wilde, of Selby Avenue in Whitefield, attended an emergency appointment at the Unsworth Smile Clinic in Parr Lane after suffering intense toothache. On his arrival, he claims he was asked to sign a disclaimer making him liable to pay for any missed appointments.

Mr Wilde (60) refused to sign the form as he claims to have been advised beforehand by PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Services) that this was now illegal since the introduction of the new dental contracts in April. He says that when he told staff at the clinic this they explained it was a "test" question and that people who do not sign the form were more likely to miss appointments and therefore would not be treated.

Mr Wilde said: "I had a terrible toothache and an abscess on the gum which came up pretty quickly but then went down over a period of two to three days and I was able to go to the dentist. The pain was terrible."

Mr Wilde, who chose to cancel his registration with his own dentist three years ago as he was unable to afford the regular six month check-up, originally contacted BARDOC (Bury and Rochdale Doctors On Call) to arrange an emergency appointment at The Dental Surgery in Radcliffe New Road, Whitefield. However, when the morning of his appointment arrived, Mr Wilde was forced to cancel it as he was too ill to attend. When he recovered, he contacted PALS to arrange another appointment at the Unsworth Smile Clinic for the following day.

Mr Wilde said: "I stated I would not sign and they said they would not treat me. I could not believe it, I was in so much pain. I was exhausted with climbing the stairs and couldn't even speak."

Yasser Iqbal, practice manager, said: "I cannot comment on an individual case but all patients are welcome to be treated on the NHS. We ask them to fill out medical history forms so we do not give them anything that can be harmful to them so we need them to sign that legal requirement. If a patient misses a NHS appointment then they are not allowed to be fined, but if a patient misses a private appointment they can be fined."

A spokeswoman for Bury PCT said: "Under the National Health Service Dental Charges Regulations 2005, dental practices can only make a charge for items listed in the regulations. As failed appointments are not listed, it is not legally appropriate after 1st April 2006, for dental practices to charge patients who fail to keep their appointments."