A triple heart attack victim has blasted a "crazy" injunction which will ban him from being treated by his doctor of more than ten years.

Kevin Greaves spoke out after the Evening Press revealed that six GPs from the York Medical Group had taken out the injunction against colleagues Martin Ashley and Gill Towler.

Under its terms, the two will be barred from treating any of their former YMG patients for twelve months after they leave the group at the end of this month.

The legal action was taken when the doctors said they wanted to leave YMG and operate a pilot project with the neighbouring Clifton and Minster practices.

Heart disease sufferer Kevin Greaves, of Huntington, says the ruling is the "craziest thing he has ever heard".

Mr Greaves was diagnosed as having heart disease after his first attack in early 1999.

Since then, he has had a further two heart attacks, a failed heart bypass operation and is waiting for the results of a transplant assessment.

He has been treated by Dr Ashley for more than ten years, and says the two GPs are the hardest working and most caring doctors he has ever come across.

"Since I found out I am suffering from this, both Dr Ashley and Dr Towler have done just about everything they can to help.

"Nothing is too much trouble, any help or advice you needed they could provide it.

"A really big thing they did is when they told me I could apply to the family practitioners committee to be exempted from prescription prices.

"Before that, I had to pay, and when you have to take the amount of drugs I do, you are talking about a lot of money," Mr Greaves, who has now vowed to leave YMG.

A spokesman for Minster Health Surgery was unable to say whether the two doctors would be employed by the practice.

"We intend to continue working with our colleagues who have planned the pilot bid for developing a forward-thinking practice whose first priority is caring for patients' needs," he said.

Dr Olga Kaliszer, of YMG, has previously said she and her colleagues were sorry the matter had to go to court.

She was pleased, however, to be able to continue serving YMG patients and developing the work the group does.

Yesterday, she said: "We have issued statements, the story has been covered. We are busy doctors and we need to get on with the job we have - looking after our patients."

Updated: 11:21 Tuesday, June 26, 2001