A BLACKBURN man has hit out at hospital bosses after being told to wait 22 weeks for a scan on an agonising knee injury.

Tony Ellison, 59, of Orchard Street, said the delay had left him surviving on his savings after he was made redundant.

Mr Ellison, claimed he cannot work until the painful swelling is clearly identified using an MRI scan and operated on.

A hospital boss today said there were "increased demands" on the service but that anyone who has waited more than 20 weeks could go private with NHS money.

However. Mr Ellison said: "Once my savings go down I don't know what I am going to do. It is going to be hard on £57 a week incapacity benefit.

"Christmas is coming up and I have bills to pay so I would think my savings will have gone by the end of January."

After being made redundant from his job as a machinist at John Berry Plastics, Blackburn, in September, Mr Ellison said he had to get his knee seen to before starting a new job.

He saw a specialist at Blackburn Royal Infirmary and then, last month, was sent a letter stating the "current waiting time is approximately 22 weeks". Many patients need an MRI scan - which produces a two dimensional image of the body - before an operation can take place.

Mr Ellison said: "I couldn't believe it. I think 22 weeks is ridiculous, I expected two or three weeks at the most.

"At the moment I don't know what to do. The doctors can't do anything until I have the scan. I can't do 12 hour shifts standing up with this knee."

"I get about but it is uncomfortable. I have a limp and I can't walk far. My knee gives way all the time.

"I just hope I can get back to work soon. It is hard for a 59-year-old to find a job."

Lynn Wissett, divisional director for women, children and diagnostics at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said 20 to 22 weeks was the maximum wait for all patients.

Patients were seen in order of need and waiting times were "comparable with many other trusts", she said.

Patients who have waited longer than 20 weeks could go with an alternate provider, either in the NHS or the private sector, she said.

Mrs Wissett said: "We are working hard to reduce waiting times in the face of increased demands on the service."