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| Dentist failed to repay patients A dentist persuaded two patients to lend him more than £5,000 which he has not repaid, the General Dental Council has been told. James Hamilton, of Valley Drive, in Brighton, East Sussex, persuaded one patient to part with £3,000 for a get-rich-quick scheme and he borrowed £2,500 from another to "tide him over", the council heard. Mr Hamilton is accused of serious professional misconduct. At the hearing on Monday the council concluded that the facts against him had been proved. The council's professional conduct committee will meet again to decide if Mr Hamilton, who worked at the surgery in New Church Road, Hove, is guilty of the charge. The hearing heard that Mr Hamilton first approached Derek Pontin in September 2000 claiming he had been involved in a car accident and needed £2,500 to "tide him over". Mr Pontin agreed to loan the money that day for a week but Mr Hamilton allegedly dodged his attempts to recover the cash, said Sarah Vaughan-Jones, for the council. Mr Pontin tried to track the dentist down through phone directories and a land registry and eventually contacted a debt collection company, though they only managed to recover £161, the hearing was told. A week later Jennifer Burgess, a friend of Mr Hamilton's, was asked about money during an appointment at the surgery. Ms Vaughan-Jones said: "She confided that she had a small amount of savings. "Later that day he phoned her at home and asked to loan £3,000. He said he had a financial scheme which he guaranteed would make 15% interest." Mr Hamilton failed to repay the cash and when Mrs Burgess went to the surgery three weeks later she found he had left. Letters she forwarded to him went unanswered and she has heard nothing from him since, Ms Vaughan-Jones said. Mr Hamilton, who represented himself at the hearing, did not dispute the allegations. "All I wish to show is that at the time in question I was not in the best of health and I acted irrationally. "Since I have realised my actions, I have acted accordingly and have tried to correct them," he said. The conduct committee referred his case to another committee, which will decide whether Mr Hamilton's health contributed to his actions before deciding whether he is guilty of serious professional misconduct. 29th January 2002 |
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