A HEART bypass patient who has faced an agonising ten-month wait for treatment last night won an apology from hospital chiefs.

Frank Wright, 68, claims he has been a victim of the Government drive to slash waiting times.

He was placed on the urgent list at Middlesbrough's James Cook University Hospital last September and told to expect an operation by the end of February.

But following a pledge in November by Health Secretary Alan Milburn to cut bypass waiting times to a maximum of 12 months, he was informed his operation had been delayed.

Last night, South Tees NHS Hospital Trust said it was sorry if Mr Wright had been misinformed and admitted the timetable he had been given had been optimistic. But it denied giving preference to less urgent cases who had been waiting longer than Mr Wright, saying Mr Milburn's pledge was completely unrelated.

Mr Wright, from Middleton in Teesdale, County Durham, is now due to receive his long-awaited heart bypass by September at the latest - just within the 12 month cut-off period.

He said: "This was not a clinical decision, it was a bureaucratic one. I know the NHS is short of surgeons and nurses, but it seems to me that judgements are being made more and more by number crunchers, not doctors."

The former Post Office engineer, who suffers from angina and has had two heart attacks, requires a plethora of pills to keep him alive and can only walk a matter of yards before feeling out of breath.

Mr Wright said: "When you're given a timetable for such a big operation as this you psyche yourself up for it, but then to be told it is not going ahead is devastating."

A series of pledges have been made by the Government to cut waiting times for heart operations with the ultimate target a maximum three-month wait.

Initiatives include offering patients on the list for more than six months the choice of treatment abroad or at private hospitals - a scheme launched only this month.

Val Bryden, chief officer of the South Durham and Weardale Community Health Council, said: "Whether it is true or not in this man's case, there is always the danger that in order to meet waiting list targets clinical priorities get a bit skewed.

"There is an argument also to say that sometimes trusts don't have the mechanisms in place to fully deliver the promises made by Government ministers."

Susan Watson, divisional manager of cardiothoracic services at the James Cook University Hospital, said: "We have a very clear policy and will not treat routine elective patients over urgent ones.

"In this case, the surgeon was being optimistic over the waiting time but the judgement was made in good faith."