THE last thing people with serious heart conditions need is a fight. But in North Yorkshire, they are having to battle to get the surgery they need. It is the ultimate indictment of the state of the modern health service.

Heart patients who need angioplasty surgery routinely face a four-month wait. In February, we revealed that 40 such patients were told their operations would be delayed by a further two months, so they fell in the next financial year.

North Yorkshire Health Authority was putting money before patient need. The Government stepped in and insisted that the money was made available. The authority backtracked and apologised. Operations would go ahead "in accordance with normal clinical practice".

It seemed like a victory for both patient power and common sense. But we celebrated too soon.

A month on, and some of the heart patients still have no date for their operations. One of them, Fred Storr, had to be rushed for an emergency angioplasty. His fear is that the next person might not be so lucky.

And the financial year ends in two weeks.

The health authority is sticking to the line that patients are being treated according to clinical need. This is a waiting list issue, not a funding issue, it says.

But the two are different sides of the same coin. The simple fact is that the authority is not treating angioplasty surgery as enough of a priority. Those still awaiting surgery are left in pain, angry and scared.

Updated: 10:47 Tuesday, March 12, 2002