A NEWPORT man fighting to get a brain operation to ease a crippling condition was given a glimmer of hope.

Health bosses in Wales, who refused Simon Henson funding for pioneering brain surgery at an English hospital, now say they are reviewing their policy.

Mr Henson, 34, suffers from dystonia, a condition that has left him with painful spasms and a permanently twisted neck.

But Health Commission Wales (HCW) turned down his request to fund deep brain stimulation (DBS) offered by Professor Tipu Aziz at Radcliffe Hospital, Oxfordshire.

The treatment could considerably ease the neurological condition. HCW said the treatment, costing £25,000, was "unproven" on dystonia, a claim slammed as "ridiculous" by Prof Aziz.

But this week HCW said they were developing a new policy for commissioning DBS, and could reconsider Mr Henson's case.

In a letter to Newport East AM John Griffiths, who is fighting Mr Henson's case, HCW chief executive Simon Dean gave details of the review.

He said it would "take into account the developing body of evidence for using DBS in Parkinson's disease and other neurological conditions". He said the policy would be completed "within the next year", and added: "Upon implementation of the policy all cases previously considered by the panel, including the case of your constituent, will be eligible for review." Mr Henson called the policy review a "positive step".

He said: "To know they are looking at it again gives me a bit of hope but we are still going to fight.

"I've already waited a year for this and I've been in agony for two years so I'm not prepared to sit back and wait another year for them to decide." John Griffiths said he has also written to health ministers in Westminster and in Scotland to see if the NHS in their areas has funded DBS for dystonia.