Latest news with #DavidHurst
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Rogue dentist's widow breaks cover at society party - as insiders tell LUCY MANLY who she is quietly seeing in Europe... and the buzzy rumour about her $6.5m home
For the 132 patients ripped off by rogue Perth dentist Dr David Hurst, the past six months since his have been a nightmare of pain, stalled insurance claims and growing frustration. But while they chase compensation or corrective surgery, Hurst's widow Clara is chasing the European summer.
West Australian
14-06-2025
- Health
- West Australian
Regulator promises action on medicos abusing patients' compassionate release of super funds
Medical practitioners have been warned the regulator is on the hunt for any doctors and dentists abusing the safety net that allows patients early access to superannuation to pay for vital treatments. The crackdown follows The Sunday Times' expose of rogue dentist David Hurst and the horrendous plight of his former patients. The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and the Dental and Medical Boards of Australia issued a joint statement expressing concern some practitioners were putting profits ahead of patient care. 'Compassionate release of superannuation (CRS), administered by the Australian Taxation Office, is an important safety net for access to urgent health care for people who cannot otherwise afford it, however, it can also have significant long-term financial impacts on individuals' superannuation outcomes. 'It is important that it is used appropriately and that patients are clearly informed of potential risks. 'The significant increase in approvals for the use of CRS for dental treatments in recent years, raises concerns that some practitioners may be placing profits over patient care. 'AHPRA and the Dental and Medical Boards of Australia are working with other regulators, including the ATO, to understand the recent growth in applications to use CRS to fund treatment and identify any concerns about inappropriate conduct. 'Under close examination is the practice of practitioners with high rates of report writing that indicate inappropriate patient assessment may be occurring.' AHPRA chief executive Justin Untersteiner added: 'We are deeply concerned by reports that some practitioners may be putting their own financial gain ahead their patients' best interests. 'We're working with the ATO to identify any potential predatory practice. 'Practitioners are on notice that we will take action to protect the public.' AHPRA said red flags for consumers included requests or demands for payment upfront; asking to use patients' myGov login details; Telehealth consults instead of in-person examinations; and missing financial consent information. All of these were experienced by patients of Dr Hurst, who withdrew up to $70,000 each from their super funds for dental implants. As reported, more than 130 patients were left in limbo following the sudden death of the 43-year-old Perth dentist last December, with $2.3 million of their pre-payments discovered missing in the wake of the tragedy. The Sunday Times has interviewed scores of patients who complain shoddy work and cheap materials left them in agony and, in some cases, looking disfigured. Dr Hurst had been allowed to practice in Australia despite a criminal conviction in his native Wales. He stole £15,584 (more than $32,000) from the UK's National Health Service by forging patient declarations while working as a dentist in Bridgend, near Cardiff, in 2006 and 2007. In 2012, he pleaded guilty to 69 counts of theft at Cardiff Crown Court, where he was sentenced to 10 months' imprisonment, suspended for two years, and given a 200-hour community work order. In 2021, Dr Hurst had been ordered to undertake education by AHPRA following patient complaints about his work. Impacted patients were this week informed a bankruptcy trustee was being appointed over the deceased estate of Dr Hurst, indicating their prepayments were gone. The number of Australians raiding their super accounts early to get dental implants and other expensive treatments has exploded by 528 per cent in five years. Money-wise, the amount withdrawn has jumped from $66.4 million in 2018-19 to $526.4m in 2023-24 — an increase of 693 per cent. Tanja Dixon, 53, is among Dr Hurst's implant patients. As happened with many others, the provisional teeth she was fitted with all snapped and broke. She said she had experienced 'rough handling' while in the dentist's chair. 'Every time I went to him he seemed agitated and frustrated,' she said. 'I even stopped him once with and said, 'You all right there, mate?'' Each setback with her new teeth meant another trip from her home in Newman to Perth. 'I was getting really annoyed because my company paid for me to fly to Perth from Newman five times at an average cost of $900 each trip not to mention accommodation costs and car hire,' Ms Dixon said. On one occasion, she flew into the city only to get a text message saying her appointment had been cancelled. Ms Dixon has lost the $50,000 she paid from her super, plus a $20,000 loan for her final instalment that she transferred in late December, unaware that Dr Hurst had died two weeks earlier. 'If I knew he had died I would not have paid the money,' she said. Ms Dixon was assured another practice, Aria Dental, would complete her treatment. But that didn't occur because Dr Hurst's practice couldn't afford to pay its bills, including to Aria Dental. Ms Dixon has had to get another $20,000 loan to finish the work with Aria Dental, which she said had been great. She needed implants because her teeth were falling out due to a rare heart condition. 'I thought I was too young to have no teeth,' she said. 'And I deal with customers every day (in my job) running fuel sites for Dunning's Fuel. 'I've been battling things for the last three years, and (finally) I thought I was winning (in life),' she said. 'My heart was getting a bit better and I was getting my teeth done, and then, bang, it all turned to s..t.' WA Health Consumers' Council executive director Clare Mullen welcomed the strong statement from AHPRA and the Dental and Medical Boards on this issue. 'We'd encourage anyone considering a significant financial investment in any health treatment to take note of the red flags they've highlighted,' she said.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Route 219 project clears regulatory hurdle
SOMERSET, Pa. – Somerset County and state transportation officials received federal clearance to proceed with a preferred U.S. Route 219 path to Maryland. The Federal Highway Administration has issued its final Environmental Impact Statement, enabling continued design work to proceed on a proposed six-mile four-lane route between Meyersdale and the Mason-Dixon Line. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation officials previously selected the route – called 'E-Shift Modified' on preliminary documents from a list of several finalists. And Somerset County leaders have backed the plan as the most direct – and most cost-effective – path. But plans for the path needed to complete a federal review before proceeding. An executive summary uploaded this month to the U.S. Route 219 project's website cited the plan's limited impact to farmland, populated areas and wetlands, compared to other options. With just two new bridges planned, the route's construction will likely be $100 million cheaper. As planned, the route will travel south of Meyersdale and veer several miles east of Salisbury Borough in Elk Lick Township before connecting to a yet-to-be-built nearly two mile link in Maryland to the Interstate 68 corridor. The two-mile path is incorporated into the project as part of a joint effort between the states of Maryland and Pennsylvania. The approval enables an extensive final design, right-of-way acquisitions and permitting to occur over the next several years, PennDOT officials said. Those phases are fully funded. But additional funding will need to be secured to complete the project's eventual construction, state and county officials have said. If all goes as planned, construction would start on the project in 2029 – and be completed in 2031. David Hurst is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @TDDavidHurst.
Daily Mail
31-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
British dentist's cosmetics tycoon wife faces his patients' fury after he killed himself in Australia with £1.1m missing from his accounts
A British dentist's cosmetics tycoon wife has been left to face his fury after he killed himself with £1.1million missing from his accounts. Dr David Hurst, who was originally from Glamorgan, Wales, left the UK for Australia after admitting 69 counts of theft from the NHS - receiving a suspended jail term in 2012. Cardiff Crown Court heard he had submitted claims with forged patient declarations to steal £15,584 while he was working at Bridgend Dental Centre But after leaving the UK in 2013 he was able to set up his own luxury dental practice in the west of the country - Perth Dental Rooms. This was despite being barred from practicing as a dentist in the UK in 2014, WalesOnline reports. And when he died by suicide, aged 43, 132 horrified customers were left 'in limbo', after he insisted they paid upfront for their treatments but had yet to deliver on their procedures. Hurst is alleged to have taken £1.1million out of the company before his death - while untreated patients were owed a total of £1.6million. Now the dentist's widow has been left to step into his role as director and deal with the furious patients after the practice fell into liquidation shortly after his suicide on December 10 last year Clara, a 43-year-old mother of two, is herself a former dentist whose soaring success in cosmetic injectables has seen her become a high society figure in the Australian city. She owns the high-end Cottesloe salon Blanc and also co-founded prescription skincare brand The Secret, which offers customers medical-strength skincare by filling out a questionnaire of their skin type. The Secret hit $1million in sales in six months and net sales of $2.65million by 2021. Earlier predictions indicated the business would reach $7million in revenue by 2023. His widow has not publicly commented on her husband's criminal past nor the circumstances surrounding the collapse of his business - and there is no suggestion that she knew anything about his illegal activities. Taking to social media in December, Perth Dental Rooms paid tribute to their former director in a post where the comments have been turned off. Alongside assuring waiting patients that they would still be treated, they said: 'It is with a heavy heart that we share the news of the passing of our beloved principal dentist and owner, David Hurst. 'His unwavering dedication to our patients and the practice has left a lasting impact, and he will be profoundly missed by all who knew him.' Hurst insisted all of his patients paid up front, Australia's Sunday Times reported, with some forking out tens of thousands for expensive procedures. They now face losing their money after the company collapsed - leaving several with severe pain as they remain untreated. 'There are just victims everywhere you look in this horrible mess,' liquidator Bryan Hughes told the outlet. 'Drawing on patient prepayments in advance of earning them has left a very large financial deficit. That financial deficit is causing enormous personal suffering for many patients.' Cardiff Crown Court heard that Hurst had fraudulently made a series of the highest value NHS claims between 2006 and 2007. He paid back the full £15,584 to the NHS, alongside a further £12,991 in costs, WalesOnline reports.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ag-related career opportunities plentiful, diverse
Four hundred Somerset County eighth-graders had their eyes opened recently to career opportunities in agriculture during an event at Pennwood Farms in Berlin. Longtime dairy farmer Harold Shaulis told our David Hurst that 'it's not all about growing crops and raising cattle.' Statewide, 25% of careers involve agriculture in some way, shape or form. That includes preservation work on state lands, logging and the veterinary field. There are ag-related banking jobs, sales professionals needed to provide ever-changing farm equipment and mechanics to maintain it. Abby Shuck is a perfect example of operating an agriculture business on a small scale. She told Meyersdale Area Middle School eighth-graders that she's an entrepreneur. She said, 'I make 10 bars (of goat milk soap) at a time … and it's helping me pay for my college costs.' The goal of the Agricultural Career Day was to broaden local youths' perspectives about the agricultural field – and the jobs that exist within it. Somerset Area eighth-grader Jacklyn Richard was seeing that for herself. She said that she was already considering following in her sister's footsteps into veterinary work, but said that dozens of presentations gave her more to think about. She told Hurst that Shuck's success of turning goat milk into a healthy skin product was a highlight of her day. She said, 'It's just really interesting getting to hear what everyone does and learning about their jobs.' Garrett Waydo, a Berlin Brothersvalley eighth-grader, agreed. He said he already works for Leydig Farms, bagging feed that is hauled to livestock. Somerset County Commissioner Irv Kimmel Jr. raises beef cattle on his family's Rockwood-area farmland, but said young people in rural Somerset County have little experience with the industry. He said, 'They can come here, walk around and get a real feel for the industry, and a lot of jobs they probably don't know exist.' We agree. It's worth checking out.
