AN EX-POSTMAN told by his doctor his leg could be amputated if he does not have surgery has been left facing an uncertain future.

David Armitage, a 43-year-old former postman, was turned down for an operation on his knee by North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust's (PCT) controversial prior approval panel.

David, of Phoenix Boulevard, off Leeman Road, York, had been sent to see a specialist by his GP for an expert opinion for an arthroscopy on his knee, with a view to having surgery.

But his request was turned down by the prior approval panel, which was set up to vet patients' access to treatment as a money-saving measure.

The PCT's suspension period for arthroscopies finished at the end of March and David has now been left in limbo, not knowing if or when his operation will be carried out.

Arthroscopy is a "keyhole" operation that is used to look inside the knee and treat joints.

David said: "The longer I leave it, my GP has told me, the worse it will get, because the healthy bones will be too badly infected with arthritis and then they may have to make the decision to amputate.

"When he first told me that it completely knocked me for six - that I could eventually lose my leg. I couldn't do anything to save the situation then.

"Because the surgeon usually doesn't do this kind of surgery until the patient is 45, he wants to look inside my knee to see how bad the bones are and whether it needs doing straight away."

In September 1984 David broke the knee cap in his right leg in four places after falling against a kerbstone.

Initially his knee was pinned back together but, by 2002, his knee cap had degenerated so badly it had to be removed completely.

Last year David had to give up his job because he had to take too much time off work to rest his painful and swollen leg. Today David is in constant pain due to arthritis and can only walk a short distance with the aid of a leg brace.

He claims he has been told by his GP that he needs an operation to fit a synthetic knee cap.

This can only be attached to healthy tissue and an arthroscopy is needed to see how bad the damage is.

The Press's Let Your Doctor Decide Campaign is calling on the PCT to scrap the prior approval panel set up in January to vet patients for a wide range of surgical procedures.

David was told in a letter from the PCT's medical director Dr David Geddes that his arthroscopy was "low priority" and therefore had not been approved.

No one at the PCT was available to comment on David's case.