"It is within the realms of possibility that I could be dead by then."

This is the damning indictment of 82-year-old York pensioner Philip Thomas-Peter, who has been told he will have to wait until November 2002 to see an eye specialist at York District Hospital.

And the retired recovery truck driver and former Canadian Army soldier is so appalled at the 18-month wait that he has cancelled the appointment.

"There is also the point that whatever is wrong with my eyes will have deteriorated in those 18 months of waiting, so it may well be a complete waste of time by then," he added.

Hospital managers acknowledge they are struggling to cope with the numbers waiting for appointments in their current cramped ophthalmology department.

They hope a £16m new unit will eventually cure the problem - and in the meantime they are calling on other hospitals to help.

They say this and other efforts may result in some appointments being brought forward - and they urged Mr Thomas-Peter to contact them to reinstate his appointment.

Mr Thomas-Peter, who also suffers from emphysema, arthritis and has a disease affecting his balance, was alerted to a worn spot on the retina of his right eye when he went to his optician for an eye test at the end of April. He went to see his GP, who referred him to the hospital.

But he and his wife, Lillian, were stunned when the hospital's letter arrived at their home off Malton Road, York, giving the date for his appointment at the hospital's eye clinic.

"We thought there must have been a misprint. We didn't know whether to laugh or cry," he said.

"When you are told your eyesight may leave you altogether, if there is anything that can be done, you want it done the sooner the better. I don't want to waste doctors' time if there's nothing that can be done, but I do feel you should be able to get an initial examination without waiting 18 months."

A spokeswoman for York Health Services NHS Trust said: "We are particularly concerned to hear that Mr Thomas-Peter has felt it necessary to cancel his appointment in the eye clinic.

"We would urge him to contact the hospital in order to reinstate the appointment.

"We do have serious problems with capacity in the ophthalmology service. We are at the limits of our current capacity. We are seeing around 25,000 outpatients a year and referrals continue to rise.

"The capacity issue was the main driving force behind the trust putting together the proposals for a new ophthalmology department. That proposal has recently been approved as part of a £16m investment in York District Hospital.

"As far as the current position is concerned, there have been discussions with GP representatives to see whether there are any changes that we might make as to how we are managing referrals.

"We are trying to use the other professional staff in the eye department to create more capacity for patients who do not always need to see a doctor.

"We are looking to see if there is any capacity in neighbouring hospitals who may be able to help at this time.

"The trust will continue to review this situation and if we are successful with any of the current initiatives then that could result in some appointments being brought forward."

Updated: 10:47 Thursday, May 24, 2001