Scammers are ‘baiting’ people who are desperate to secure an appointment with an NHS dentist, according to leading members of the profession.

People are falling victim to bogus websites offering NHS dental appointments secured through a pre-payment scheme, the British Dental Association (BDA) has said.

The organization said the scammers targeted people in Essex, Devon, Merseyside, Norfolk and Suffolk, taking up to £319.10 for care.

Jacqui Nicholson, 62, from County Durham, fell for the scam after waiting two years for an NHS dentist.

The site was promoted by someone he trusted on social media.

Mrs Nicholson paid £53 each for appointments for herself and her husband and claims the website had an NHS logo, pre-payment options and detailed email confirmation.

She said: “It felt so real. Even Google Mapped it. It’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s fake. Don’t you dare.”

BDA chairman Eddie Crouch called for “urgency” from the government.

In the run-up to July’s general election, Labor made a manifesto commitment to create 700,000 new urgent and emergency dental visits.

“Criminals are now preying on desperate patients left with no options,” Mr Crouch said.

“We need urgency and real ambition from Labor in NHS dentistry. Fraudsters will continue to see real opportunities as long as the new Government’s promises remain unfulfilled.”

The BDA wrote to chancellor Rachel Reeves following last week’s Budget announcement that employers’ National Insurance contributions will rise from April.

It said the change would “significantly add to the financial pressures” dental practices face, as the “overwhelming majority” are small businesses.

The BDA wrote: “Practices are running on empty, struggling to recruit or retain staff.

“The real reform that this service desperately needs, and your party has promised, will have to go hand in hand with fair and sustainable funding.”

Health Secretary Wes Streeting told Good Morning Britain: “I want to thank the British Dental Association for raising awareness of these types of scams and we will look at what else we can do under the law to clamp down on this. .

“They have done the public a real service this morning by giving some practical advice and helping to avoid other people being taken in.

“But Eddie Crouch is also right that we need to stop the rot in NHS dentistry, which has been allowed to go on for far too long.

“Eddie was just in the Department this week with the British Dental Association meeting the Minister for Care.

“Now the Chancellor has set out the budget and spending review totals for the next few years, we can negotiate the dental contract to deliver on our manifesto commitment of 700,000 urgent dental appointments, but also to deliver the wider fundamental reform it needs NHS dentistry. . So we will continue those negotiations and report back.”