Knee op patient left 'housebound' after 17 month wait

A retired engineer from Bridgend was left "housebound" after waiting almost 17 months for a knee operation.

Tony David, 72, has had one knee operated on and is now waiting for surgery on the other.

"It was in May last year when I saw the consultant and I asked him how long do you think it will be? He told me over 12 months and the way he said it it was like that for everyone.

"I've just come out now, so that's nearly 17 months," he told BBC Wales health correspondent Owain Clarke.

His wife Beverley David said it had been a frustrating time, with her husband left in pain.

Deputy health minister Vaughan Gething AM has warned that the NHS in Wales will not be able to keep up with demand for orthopaedic surgery unless there are urgent changes in the way services are run.

A health board spokeswoman said it was working to to reduce waiting times.