An Inverness dentist who was suspended for poor hygiene practices will be stripped of Scottish Government funding that was given to help him set up in business.
Andre Basson received £175,000 as part of a publicly-funded initiative aimed at addressing a shortage of dental professionals in the north.
Mr Basson, of The Keep Practice on Castle Wynd, was suspended earlier this month by the General Dental Council (GDC) after the regulator found basic infection control failings that put the safety of his patients and colleagues at risk.
He failed to wash his hands when required or wear gloves and other protective garments.
The GDC also heard that Mr Basson used pieces of dental kit more than once when he should have thrown them out and failed to decontaminate other pieces of equipment between patients.
NHS Highland is now taking steps to recoup part of his grant after he was given a six-month ban from the profession.
A spokesman said: “Mr Basson received a Scottish Dental Access Initiative (SDAI) grant of £175,000 to assist with setting up The Keep Dental Practice.
“The payment was made in two stages as is consistent with the SDAI scheme: £140,000 and then subsequently £35,000.
“As he has breached the conditions of his grant, he will be required to repay grant monies and this process has been started.”
It is not clear at this stage how much of the grant Mr Basson will have to repay.
One former patient, who declined to be named, said: “I am appalled that this rogue South African dentist who ruined my mouth has been given such a large amount of money at taxpayer’s expense, without any background checks being carried out on the quality or standard of care he provided to his patients.
“Will the taxpayer get any of the money squandered on this dentist back?”
The GDC allegations date back to November 2009, when he first received the money to set up the practice.
Part of the allegations upheld against him relate to poor training of dental nurses hired by Mr Basson.
Despite the poor working practices, Mr Basson continued to be among the highest earning NHS dentists in Scotland and was paid £245,000 for his NHS work last year.
Earlier this year, another dentist who worked at the practice was reprimanded by the GDC for substandard work.
Benat De Miguel admitted a series of charges in relation to his work at The Keep Practice between July 2011 and February 2013 at a GDC hearing.
The charges related to failures of care in relation to 10 patients.
Mr De Miguel, who is now registered in Edinburgh, admitted failing to monitor the periodontal treatment of a number of patients suffering from gum disease and failing to treat a number of patients requiring periodontal care.
He also admitted not reporting the findings of seven radiographs carried out on patients, and 15 uses of local anaesthetic.
He further admitted making or permitting an inappropriate claim for treatment which allegedly had not been done in August 2012.
The GDC said they had found his ability to practice impaired and imposed a string of conditions on him.
The committee heard Mr De Miguel was working in a “challenging environment” and was “over confident” and did not realise his work was sub-standard.
The misconduct committee ruled his failings were “serious” and qualified as misconduct – although they felt Mr De Miguel is “remediable”.
The Press and Journal has made repeated attempts to contact Mr Basson, without success.