BOSSES at Airedale Hospital, Steeton, have apologised to patients forced to wait months for non-urgent scans.

Some patients have reported waiting more than five months for a scan at the hospital, while patients at nearby Bradford and Lancaster Royal Infirmaries only have to wait a matter of weeks.

Patient Leslie Howard said he was told he would have to wait 21 weeks to get a scan on a special machine which produces cross sectional images.

"It would seem that the CT scan department at Airedale Hospital has no system whatsoever when it comes to making appointments and seems to work in a completely haphazard way," said Mr Howard, who suffers from a back problem.

"Either that or the waiting time is deliberately being extended to make people go private and pay for their treatment. This has gone from the ridiculous to the sublime."

Mr Howard, of Coppy Road, Steeton, said he contacted both Bradford and Lancaster hospitals who were horrified to hear the length of time patients were waiting at Airedale.

Airedale NHS Trust's deputy chief executive Janet Crouch said the trust was aware of the problems being experienced by Mr Howard and had responded to his complaint.

"The trust accepts that the current waiting times for non-urgent CT scans are unacceptable and we apologise to all patients who are affected by the situation.

"We are currently reviewing our appointment systems, and will be installing a new CT scanner during 2001, which we hope will help to alleviate the current problems."

Mrs Crouch added that an increase in the number of referrals for scans was adding to the problem.

"This means that we have to prioritise patients and ensure that those whose condition is felt to be clinically urgent are seen within 10 days," she said. "This inevitably means that patients with less urgent conditions are having to wait several months for a CT scan.

"In addition to the increased workload, the department is experiencing a shortage of consultant radiologists and is undergoing a phased refurbishment of accommodation and replacement of x-ray equipment, both of which are having an adverse effect on services, but which should improve in the new year."