AN ELDERLY man who had to pay for his own prostate cancer care says he has been let down by the NHS and could have died.

Donald Chapman, aged 80, paid £1,350 out of his life savings to have a biopsy performed privately at what is now the Spire South Bank Hospital in Bath Road, Worcester, because he was fed-up of waiting to have the procedure done on the NHS.

He is now demanding an apology, compensation and that his costs are reimbursed by Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Worcestershire Royal Hospital. Mr Chapman of Woodbridge Close, St Peter's, Worcester, believes he would be dead if he had developed a more aggressive form of the cancer because surgeons at the hospital failed to act quickly enough.

He said: "They just told me I may have' prostate cancer but they didn't take any action. I'm furious. If I had had a more aggressive form of the cancer I would be dead by now.

"This is more than worrying - it's a disaster."

He was worried the waiting list for a biopsy, which would prove whether he had cancer, was so long he would die. He was placed on a three-month waiting list on the NHS but opted to pay for the procedure privately in March 2005, which confirmed he had the cancer.

Under Government guidelines, patients should be seen within two months.

Mr Chapman, who does not have a malignant form of the cancer, is still demanding answers from the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust and independent watchdog the Healthcare Commission.

He is not satisfied with the answers he has been given.

The Heathcare Commission agreed in its report he should have been seen within two months.

Mr Chapman wrote to John Rostill, chief executive of the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, 21 times to complain, receiving 11 replies, since his ordeal began more than three years ago.

He remains angry that Mr Rostill mistakenly said in a letter that he needed "another biopsy" when he had yet to have one, either privately or on the NHS.

The trust has so far refused to pay for the cost of the biopsy because Mr Chapman organised a private appointment before the NHS appointment for the biopsy was arranged.

A spokesman for the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said he was unable to comment on individual cases.

A spokesman for the Healthcare Commission said: "We would like to reassure people that we take patients' complaints very seriously.

"We perform a thorough and robust investigation into each complaint we receive.

"If a patient is unhappy with the outcome of their complaint, we will always listen to their concerns and seek to resolve any problems when they arise. However, if they are still unsatisfied, they are entitled to contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to seek a further review."