Health bosses have apologised to a 74-year-old widow who has been waiting three years for a replacement knee operation.

Doreen Bedford, pictured, is on painkillers for the acute wear and tear on her joint. She struggles to get about and needs a walking stick.

And she believed she was getting overlooked because of her age.

Today Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust admitted there had been a breakdown in communications and booked her in for pre-tests on Thursday with a view to the operation going ahead early next month.

Mrs Bedford, of Rossett House, Otley Road, Bradford, said: "My knee is swollen and I am on painkillers for it all the time. It is very difficult for me.

"It had got to the stage where I honestly thought they were ignoring me and wondering if they really wanted to see me at all because of my age."

She said she had suffered setback after setback waiting for the operation after first going on the waiting list in 1999.

In 2001 she was told she was being called up soon - but never heard anything more. She cancelled two holidays because she thought the dates might have clashed.

And this summer her hopes were dashed at the 11th hour.

She was due to go in on June 18 but four days before she got a letter saying her operation was cancelled because her pre-tests had revealed she had high blood sugar.

After the Telegraph & Argus took up her case Mrs Bedford received an apology and was told arrangements were being made for her treatment. Health chiefs now say the operation can go-ahead next month, providing she is fit.

Mrs Bedford said: "I am very grateful to the T&A. I don't think anything would have happened otherwise.

"At last I feel as though something is happening and that hopefull, it will all soon be sorted. It would be great to get it done before Christmas."

A spokesman for Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust said: "We acknowledge there was a delay between Mrs Bedford first being seen at the Trust and her initial date for surgery.

"This was due to a breakdown in communications and for that we apologise."

But the Trust spokesman added that the June operation was cancelled "in the interests of her own safety".

"It would have been inappropriate and, at worst dangerous, to carry out the procedure at that time," he said.

Mrs Bedford's problems with her knees started nearly 30 years ago. She first had surgery on her left knee in 1976 then her right knee was operated on in 1984 to straighten it and a plate was inserted to cure a deformity.

But increasingly a replacement became her only option and she was told she was on the waiting list in 1999.

"People keep coming up to me asking 'haven't you had it done yet?' - even my own doctor. But I haven't heard anything for so long now.

"If anyone had told me I'd be still waiting after all this time I would never have believed them. I just don't believe waiting lists figures any more."

Gordon Coventry, spokesman for the Bradford City Primary Care Trust, said: "After she was deemed unfit this summer she should have gone back on the list as soon as possible.

"There seems to have been a slight breakdown in communications."

He denied she was being overlooked because of her age. He added: "It is better to treat elderly patients rather than let them risk having a fall or have to go into hospital long-term."

Mr Coventry said Mrs Bedford's case was rare as, at the end of September, only seven patients had been waiting for longer than nine months for orthopaedic surgery in the Bradford area.

The Government's waiting list target for orthopaedic cases is no more than 15 months but in Yorkshire that figure is already down to no more than 12 months.

By March next year the aim is to get that down to nine months.

Lesley Sterling-Baxter, chief officer at patients' watchdog, the Bradford Community Health Council, said: "Something has gone wrong. Nobody should have to wait that long. My sympathies go to this lady.

"We would advise that anyone who has been waiting more than six months should go back to their GPs because they can do something about it."

She said Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust had an excellent record on keeping waiting lists down.

"We are lucky in Bradford that we have a three star hospital in the BRI and the PCTs are working together to keep the waiting times down."

The CHC, which advises patients, can be contacted on (01274) 392762