A LEADING Gwent surgeon says waiting-times for patients are "a disgrace". Keith Tayton, an orthopaedic consultant at the Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport, says in his 20 years working in Gwent he cannot remember hospitals being so stretched - and warns only radical solutions will solve the problem.

Mr Tayton (pictured) believes a huge shake-up of Gwent hospitals is the only way to tackle the problems.

He told the Argus: "It grieves me when I see a woman from say, Pill, who has worked hard all her life, raised a family, but is in pain with arthritis.

"She asks how long she must wait, I say two years, and she bursts into tears and asks how much it is to go private. I say £7,000 and she looks at me like she's got to win the Lottery.

"It happens and it's not acceptable. Waiting-times are a disgrace and we must get serious about tackling them."

Mr Tayton says: Waiting-times figures in England and Wales obscure the real situation for many patients. Urgent Gwent cases can wait more than three years just to see a specialist. The longest wait for surgery in Gwent is currently four years, for a knee replacement.

New Wales figures show a big fall in patients waiting more than 18 months for orthopaedic surgery, down to 1,408 by March 31, compared with 2,398 in March 2001. But England's figures show just three patients in all specialities waiting 18 months or longer for surgery by the end of February.

Mr Tayton said: "Wales has 6 per cent of the United Kingdom population but gets 8 per cent of the NHS budget. We are heavily subsidised.

"The English get less than they should, so the waiting-times difference is even more remarkable. With less money they are apparently solving the problem."