The Prime Minister has been urged to ensure that some 8,000 people who will be left without a dentist in Ramsgate because of the closure of a large practice are given some alternative.

South Thanet MP Craig Mackinlay raised the issue of the closure on Saturday of Church Hill practice at Prime Minister’s Questions.

He said: “The people of Ramsgate face an uncertain future over their dental care. Church Hill dental practice serving 5,000 patients will close this Saturday [when] the contract comes to an end.

"The practice will close and there is no replacement.

"Will the PM encourage the commissioners to work with me to find an urgent solution?”

The Prime Minister replied: “I understand when the practice closes, NHS England will be working with other dental practices in the area to ensure places are available and increase their capacity.

"There is a wider piece of work being done on the dental needs of east Kent and the provision of those services.”

Patients were angered when the news of the closure surfaced last year. At the time, NHS England said it was working on providing more capacity in the area.

Craig Mackinlay said: "I entirely share my constituents’ anger and frustration that, due to problems with the lease and ongoing contract losses – a situation that was known to NHS England (South East) up to a year ago – Church Hill Dental Practice will be closing at the end of this week leaving around 8,000 patients without a dentist.

“It is incomprehensible that new arrangements were not being considered and planned for a long time ago. Indeed, if I had been alerted to the impending problem sooner, I would have investigated solutions that the professionals seemed incapable of doing.

“There are currently no obvious solutions on the table, although I very much hope that a new provider will emerge to fulfil longer term demand in central Ramsgate.

“The situation is far from satisfactory, was in my view wholly avoidable, and what is more frustrating is that none of this has arisen through shortage of money - more through very poor administration.”

It was announced in December that the dental practice would close as a five-year contract which commissions Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust to provide care at the practice was not renewed.

Enraged patients had contacted the landlords, claiming that they has raised the rent too high.

Landlords Mr and Mrs Deer had received messages from locals who indicated that they believed the reason behind its closure was because the landlords had raised the rent too high to allow the NHS Trust to operate in the building,

But the couple dismissed these claims, and said they had deliberately kept rent low in order to try and keep the NHS Trust as their tenants.

Church Hill will close on Saturday. Its sister practice in Sandwich will remain open.