IT IS a choice no one should have to make.

But the daily agony of crippling arthritis has forced one York pensioner to put her home on the line to try to get treatment.

Rita Bennett, 62, has lived in constant pain from the condition for almost two years, but claims she can't get an appointment with an NHS doctor.

Now she has plans to use her £3,000 savings set aside to fund a shortfall in her mortgage to go private.

Today, she said: "I do not want to choose between my house and my health."

Rita, of Danebury Crescent, in Acomb, was forced to quit her job in York Racecourse's function room last year after she started to suffer from osteoarthritis three years ago.

She said an NHS consultant told her he could not operate because she weighed 18 stone. Since then Rita has lost four-and-a-half stone but claims she is still waiting for a proper assessment.

Last year, she had a pain-relieving injection in her spine and has had acupuncture sessions, but she says she is still waiting for doctors to tell her how they can relieve her agony.

The final straw came when she got a letter saying she had another four-month wait for physiotherapy.

"I was so upset," Rita said. "I said to my doctor, I have been at my wits end because the pain is so horrific'. I have never known pain like this, ever."

Rita struggles to move around her home on crutches. Her condition means any movement of joints between her knee and her lower back is unbearably painful.

She has been housebound for almost two years, and takes a cocktail of 22 tablets a day to relieve her pain.

Her lack of movement means her legs are swollen, and she has developed abscesses.

Now she has asked her doctor to send her to the Purey Cust Nuffield Hospital, in Precentors Court, York, to get help.

To fund the expensive treatment, Rita plans to use an ISA savings account she set up to pay off her mortgage.

She said: "I have got to use it because I can't live with this pain. I will have to draw it out. I am bitter, but I am desperate because I need that money to pay the mortgage off. That's why I have not touched it. But now I am going to have to.

"I should be getting it on the NHS, but they are just holding back with the operations. I can't get appointments to find out what they can do for me."

She said she fears for the future if she spends the cash on an operation rather then the mortgage she is tied to until she is 72.

"If I shortfall, I do not know what on earth I am going to do," she said. "It worries me sick. I need to keep it for my mortgage, but what can I do? I can't go on like this."

Her sister, Janice Barnes, 55, of Dringhouses, said: "If I was in her situation and the pain that she is in, I would do anything and spend my last penny just to get some relief."

Mike Proctor, director of nursing at York Hospital, said: "We would want to listen to her concerns and see if there is any other way we can help. We will look into it in more detail and see if there is any more we can do."

Agonising wait

* Autumn, 2002 Rita Bennett is first diagnosed with osteoarthritis.

* Spring, 2003 An NHS consultant tells 18 stone Rita he can not operate on her because of her weight.

* January, 2004 Rita falls at a post-Christmas party held for staff at York Racecourse, worsening her condition.

* Spring, 2004 Rita is forced to leave her job at York Racecourse.

* May, 2004 She falls again at the Netto supermarket, in Layerthorpe.

* Autumn, 2005 Doctors give Rita a spinal injection to relieve her back pain.

* December, 2005 Admitted to hospital after suffering unbearable pain at home.

* January, 2005 Rita is again in hospital with an infected leg.

* Spring, 2006 Rita has a seven-week course of acupuncture to help her symptoms.

So, just what is osteoarthritis?

OSTEOARTHRITIS (OA) is the most common form of arthritis and happens when inflammation causes sharp pain in the joints.

It is caused when cartilage which acts a cushion inside joints gets worn down, and as bones become less well-protected they rub together.

OA most often affects the hands, feet, spine and large joints such as the hips, although any joint can be affected.

Sufferers often experience severe pain when they put any weight on their joints, try to walk around or exercise.

There is no cure for the condition, as cartilage can not grow back.

But doctors can relieve the symptoms by using dietary supplements, drugs and, in severe cases, joint replacement surgery.