THOUSANDS of NHS dental places are to be lost in Chepstow when a town practice goes private on April 1.

Boscobel House Dental Surgery, which has four dentists, will stop providing NHS treatment.

Around 7,000 patients will be affected and they are being informed by letter. Monmouthshire Local Health Board (LHB) has set up a hotline for concerned patients.

LHB medical director Laurence Hamilton-Kirkwood said "We would like to assure patients we have advanced plans for dentistry in Chepstow, and will confirm these within the next few weeks. All patients will be advised in writing,"

A statement from Boscobel House claims its withdrawal from NHS services is down to "imposition of a new contract by the government."

"Because we feel the new contract will not allow us the time to provide our patients with the kind of preventative care we wish to give, we have taken the difficult decision to ask our adult patients to register in our independent dental care plan," it reads.

The practice had hoped to secure an NHS contract for children, but the LHB is not offering that option.

The NHS dental contract is controversial. In Monmouthshire no contracts have been signed, but Mr Hamilton-Kirkwood said at least half its dentists have said they will sign, while none of Chepstow's other practices have indicated they will pull out.

"Across Monmouthshire we hope to have more NHS dental places after the contract than before it." he said, adding that in Birmingham every dentist has said they will not sign up.

l Chepstow patients concerned about dental provision may telephone the LHB hotline - 01600 710046.

Details of practices registering NHS patients are on www.monmouthshirelhb.wales.nhs.uk

Will you be affected? Call Andy Rutherford on 01633 777134.