A LEADING North-East surgeon has attacked "totally unrealistic" Government waiting list targets.

Professor Paul Gregg, of South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust, spoke out after it was revealed that hundreds of people in County Durham who have already waited six months for hip replacement operations will have to carry on waiting until at least April.

The professor, who is president of the British Orthopaedic Association, said he felt very strongly that surgeons should be allowed to give priority to patients needing major joint replacement operations.

Currently, surgeons have to treat patients who have waited the longest, even if their condition is non-urgent.

"People who need hip and knee replacements are the most disabled people we come across, so they should have priority," he said.

Managers at the County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospitals Trust blame lack of cash and shortage of beds for delays which mean that about 650 people have waited more than nine months for operations.

The trust concedes that it is unlikely to meet the end of year target of no more than 166 waiting for longer than nine months.

But Prof Gregg, who has a chair in orthopaedic surgical science at Durham University, said the problems were being experienced right across the UK.

"The targets set for orthopaedic surgeons are totally unrealistic and they won't be met," said Prof Gregg, who has been in talks with the Department of Health.

"Almost all orthopaedic surgeons in the UK are experiencing great difficulties in reaching the targets," he added.

The main problem was the shortage of trained orthopaedic surgeons made worse by the growing demand for hip and knee replacement operations, said Prof Gregg.

A lack of beds within the NHS and gaps in the ranks of specialist nursing staff and anaesthetists also contributed to the problem, he said.

Prof Gregg called for the drawing up of a new national plan for orthopaedic surgery which would boost NHS training posts.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "We appreciate that our targets are challenging, but nevertheless we feel that they are achievable. Seventy per cent of patients are seen within three months.

"Surgeons already prioritise urgent cases but we believe patients in non-urgent circumstances should be dealt with in order of the length of time they have been waiting."