Botched dentistry: Harlow man took his life after years of pain

Clive Worthington never received his compensation payout after the botched dental work

The daughter of a man who took his own life after experiencing years of pain linked to botched dental surgery said she had "lost faith in the system".

Clive Worthington, from Harlow, Essex, travelled to Hungary for dental implants in 2008.

Several follow-up procedures from the same dentist back in the UK over the next seven years were unsuccessful.

The government said it was addressing a so-called loophole which meant the 81-year-old missed out on compensation.

Last week, an inquest concluded Mr Worthington's death in 2022 was a suicide.

Senior Essex coroner Lincoln Brookes said the "long-term consequences" of Mr Worthington's unsuccessful dental surgery "impacted significantly on his mental health and ability to cope with daily life".

Clive Worthington had three children and five grandchildren

"It's such a tragic end to a life," said Mr Worthington's daughter, Gina Tilly.

"It just makes me so mad - that it didn't have to end this way."

In 2017, the General Dental Council (GDC) found Dr Eszter Gömbös, who was employed by Perfect Profiles, at fault for the work.

Mr Worthington was awarded £117,378 in damages and legal costs at Chelmsford County Court in November 2019 - one of the highest pay-outs for dental negligence in the UK.

But the insurer which covered Dr Gömbös - the Dental Defence Union (DDU) - argued "discretionary indemnity" and refused to pay.

The British Medial Association says discretionary indemnity is "where legal and financial assistance is provided at the discretion of the provider, for example, not backed by an insurance contract between the healthcare professional and the provider".

'Deeply frustrating'

Ms Tilly said the dental insurance system, especially discretionary indemnity, was "madness".

"I've completely lost faith in the system. It's completely nonsensical, it's completely outdated," she added.

The compensation was won by solicitor Paul Judkins who referred to discretionary indemnity as a loophole and said: "Nowhere in the Dentists Act 1984 does the word discretion come up".

Dr Gömbös and her former employer did not respond to the BBC's approach for comment. On its website, Perfect Profiles said it ceased trading in 2022.

The DDU said it was saddened to hear about Mr Worthington's death, but could not comment on individual cases.

The union also declined to comment further when asked why it did not pay out the awarded compensation.

The GDC said: "[Patients] must be able to seek compensation in the rare event that something goes wrong in their dental care, and it is deeply frustrating that weaknesses in the current legislation caused the system to fail in this instance".

Mr Worthington spent seven years undergoing several unsuccessful follow-up dental procedures

The Department of Health and Social Care told the BBC that it has "pre-existing concerns about discretionary indemnity".

The government said it was continuing to look into the issue of clinical negligence as part of the Paterson inquiry implementation update.

A spokesperson for the department said: "We have made significant progress to improve patient safety over the last decade, including the introduction of the first NHS Patient Safety Strategy from 2019."

The spokesperson added: "We are working with the sector to improve access to compensation for clinical negligence and will ensure any changes are in the best interests of patients."

Ms Tilly is determined to find out why her father never received his compensation

Ms Tilly told the BBC she would continue to fight for justice for her father.

"My dad had already started to contact the media while he was still alive, he knew that this wasn't right," she said.

"I just don't want my dad to have died in vain because of this.

"I will keep asking the questions and I'll keep fighting to try and get things changed."

Mr Worthington, who worked as wood machinist, had three children and five grandchildren.