A mother-of-two who has been waiting eight months for a hernia operation labelled a letter asking her if she still wanted the treatment as "ridiculous".

Amanda Castle, 36, of Windmill Lane, York, was told in February there was a six-month waiting list for an operation to treat her painful hiatus hernia. But one week before that period was up, she received a letter from York Hospital asking her to re-register if she still required the operation.

Mrs Castle, who has two children aged ten and seven, said the letter was a huge disappointment, just as she thought she was about to get the medical treatment she urgently needed.

But Mike Proctor, chief operating officer and director of nursing at the hospital, said the letter was simply a standard procedure.

He said it made sure patients were still available for treatment and the waiting list was managed as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Mrs Castle, who works full time as a hairdresser, said: "It's just constant pain, and I went to my GP three weeks ago to see if he could hurry things up.

"The letter was ridiculous. A few months ago I was thinking I could put up with it because the operation would not be long, but then this letter came. It's just ridiculous.

"It looks to me like they are trying to get people off the list because they might forget to reply. I sent it back straight away, but still haven't heard anything."

Her husband, Tony, 45, a tree surgeon, said the family were now considering taking out a loan to meet the £1,900 cost of a private operation. He said: "If people get this they might not understand it and realise they could be taken off the list. It should not be our decision whether we need the operation, it should be the consultant's."

Mr Proctor said the six-month waiting time could fluctuate as the number of patients requiring more urgent treatment increased.

He added the trust was working hard to reduce the national nine-month waiting time to six months.

He said: "Our experience tells us that patients often change their minds, or wish to put off having their surgery for a number of personal reasons, which we fully understand. As a result, we write to patients to confirm they are still able to have their operation.

"This is so we can make sure they are issued with another suitable time to come in, and other people waiting for the same operation can fill that person's place if they cannot attend."

Updated: 12:19 Friday, October 14, 2005