A CWMBRAN man who has waited in pain for two years on an NHS priority waiting list now wants to have his hip replacement operation abroad.

Gwyn Roberts, (pictured) 50, from Snowdon Court, Croesyceiliog, says he has to take pain killers every four hours and needs crutches to walk.

He says he hasnt been able to work for three years since leaving his job as a machine operator because of his hip.

Now Mr Roberts wants to go abroad to have the operation after Alan Milburn announced NHS patients should be able to have treatment under the NHS abroad.

'We don't care where he has to go,' said his wife, Marylin.

'He can't walk far, one leg is two inches shorter than the other. He finds it hard to sleep at night.' Mrs Roberts says she phones the hospital every week to find out when her husband might receive an operation.

'They say I'm seventh on the list then they say I'm fifth on the list,' he claimed.

'It feels as though they are dangling a carrot under my nose. I am in serious pain, I have to take pain killers every four hours and I cant walk forty metres before I have to take a break.

'I can't do all the things I used to do, I want to go to work but I cant,' he said. Now, he is looking into getting treatment in another European country after the government paved the way for such a move last week.

A statement from the Assembly said: It is not just the initial treatment that has to be considered but all the follow-up treatments.

'However, there is no legal obstacle and if the standard of care and follow-up care can be guaranteed, sending a patient abroad for treatment is an option.'

Mr Roberts will need to send a letter to the Health Authority explaining why he wants to have the operation abroad with a recommendation by his consultant. The health authority would then assess his claim, an Assembly spokeswoman said.

Dr Edward Coyle, director of public health for Gwent Health Authority, said that although they had receieved a number of queries about the possibility of treatment in Europe they were waiting for instructions to come through from the Assembly on how to proceed.