AN Evesham man will undergo a hole in the heart operation next week - just days after he was told health chiefs were not prepared to fund it.

Richard Edwards, who needs the operation before he can have a hip replacement, said his GP told him on Monday that the South Worcestershire PCT was not prepared to fund the operation at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

Furious Richard, 39, a carpenter, contacted MP Peter Luff seeking his help in sorting out the problem.

But the following day, he said he was contacted by the PCT and told that funding had now been agreed and the operation could go ahead as scheduled next week. He said: "I received a letter from my GP, Dr Stephen Grant, on Monday asking me to call in and see him immediately.

"When I got there he said the PCT was not prepared to pay for the operation so it could not go ahead. He was very angry about it and so was I. I wrote to Peter Luff that night.

"On the Tuesday morning, someone from the PCT rang me and told me the funding had been agreed.

"She was very apologetic and said it was unusual for patients to become involved in this process. She said there had been a lack of communication which had led to a misunderstanding."

However, the PCT said the decision to fund the operation had been taken by last Thursday and the news conveyed to the specialist at Radcliffe.

"We were given seven days by the Trust concerned to make the decision on funding and we managed the process in three days.

"Our major concern, even though funding had already been agreed, was for us to understand the effectiveness of this new type of clinical procedure which was to be conducted by a surgeon of the named NHS Trust. Patient safety is paramount to us. As this procedure was defined as a complex case, there is a formal process which needed to be addressed.

"The outcome is that a consultant at the Primary Care Trust agreed that, clinically, the procedure was safe for the patient and the operation could go ahead.

"The patient was informed by telephone on Tuesday and a letter followed."

But Mr Edwards, who lives with his partner Rachel in Cheltenham Road, Evesham, insisted: "I was told quite clearly by my GP on Monday that the funding was not being made available. On Tuesday, the Trust said it was. Those 12 or so hours in between were among the worst of my life."

Dr Grant and Peter Luff were unavailable for comment.