In November, I contacted my dentist of five years' standing.

I was told he was no longer within the NHS. There had been no communication to this effect from the practice, which shows a depressing lack of courtesy.

I then had to find a new dental practice which took NHS patients.

The first practice I contacted agreed to take me on and I had a consultation for which I paid the NHS charge for a first appointment.

I was referred to the oral surgery clinic at the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, which wrote to the practice to say I needed new dentures.

The practice told me they didn't do dentures on the NHS and new ones would cost about £1,000. When I called the NHS dental care helpline, I was told, since I'd been taken on as an NHS patient, I was entitled to further NHS treatment.

However, I had no wish to pursue the matter with a practice which appeared more interested in cash than care.

So, yet again, I'm engaged in the hugely depressing activity of finding a dentist.

The next time a Labour politician says the NHS is a beacon to the world, I'll blow a fat raspberry.

-Rashid Karapiet, Brighton