A FATHER suffering from 'excruciating' and 'debilitating' back pain for six weeks has been forced to pay for private care because he says the wait for NHS care is far too long.

BBC journalist Phil Mackie of Ombersley Road, Worcester, opted for a private scan at the Spire South Bank Hospital in the city’s Bath Road to try and bring his pain to an end.

The 50-year-old father-of-three said the pain was at times 'excruciating' and he could not walk for more than 10 minutes without developing severe pain down his left side. He struggles even to walk or stand despite being prescribed strong painkillers.

The keen cricketer has suffered back problems since 2001 following a work-related injury but the pain became unbearable at the end of June.

Despite the pain he has yet to receive a diagnosis on the NHS.

Mr Mackie, who has been signed off work for five weeks, now hopes to get a painkilling epidural injection on the NHS after paying privately for a scan which led to a consultant diagnosing a prolapsed disc.

Between two private consultations (£180 each), an MRI scan (£230), prescriptions for painkillers including anti-inflammatory drugs, relaxants and paracetamol and physiotherapy/massage at £35 per week he has so far paid around £750 for treatment he believes should be available on the NHS. He also believes if action had been taken sooner it might have prevented the problem developing to its current extent.

Mr Mackie said: “Other people who can’t afford that, I don’t know what they do. It’s a really frustrating system.

“This isn’t the fault of the doctors. There’s a fault with the system that seems to be creating long delays which are causing the problem. A year ago it wasn’t like this. Having suffered difficulties with my back in the past this wait wasn't the case then.

“This is a burden for anyone. I know we can pay it off but for people who are not well off £750 is not an option. I did hold on, hoping I could have it done on the NHS. If I could get the injection tomorrow I would go back to work. I would hope to be back at work as soon as possible after the injection.”

Mr Mackie said the pain started in late May and early June before he had a painful back episode at the end of June.

Mr Mackie said he was treated as a ‘non-urgent referral’ initially but was classed as ‘urgent’ once seen by the physiotherapist at Barbourne Health Centre.

The physiotherapist told him he was ‘too far gone’ to benefit from the treatment which was when Mr Mackie said he was re-referred as urgent.

He was then referred to ICAT (the Integrated Clinical Assessment and Treatment Service for musculo-skeletal problems) on July 10 but he has yet to hear from them either by telephone or by letter.

He said he was told he would hear from ICAT within two weeks. Mr Mackie has had to return to the GP several times for painkillers.

A spokesperson for the South Worcestershire Clinical Commissioning Group when asked about waiting times said: “The current waiting times commissioned in relation to the ICATS service is as follows. Referrals will be triaged within one working day of receipt.

“Urgent referrals will be seen within five working days. Routine referrals will be seen within six weeks

The current median wait for routine appointments is approximately eight weeks.

“The current pathways have been in place for some time and the commissioners work with the provider to understand demand ensuring a high quality, responsive service.

“Unfortunately we cannot comment on this particular case and suggest the patient writes formally to the provider to investigate their waiting time.

“The ICATS service has been in place for a number of years and is a well-established part of the musculo-skeletal referral pathway.”

Mr Mackie said he was 'perfectly happy' for the NHS to comment on his particular case and would not have spoken to the Worcester News if this was not the case.