THREE thousand new NHS dental places will be made available in Eastleigh and the Test Valley over the next six months.

But the exact locations of the dental practices are being kept secret for now.

The Eastleigh and Test Valley South Primary Care Trust has received funding from the Department of Health, but officials are not revealing which practices will be taking NHS patients for fear of attracting queues.

Associate director of primary care, Julia Bagshaw, said: "We have decided to release the places in batches so we can keep the process as smooth as possible and avoid people having to wait six months or more for their initial assessment."

The dedicated telephone number is 023 8090 2537 and the line will be staffed from 8.30am to 4.45pm daily.