A MAN with a heart defect was forced to cancel a ‘vital’ hospital appointment after the Patient Transport Service refused to take him.

Mark McDonald, 40, of Nelson, who has arrhythmia, a disturbance of the normal electrical rhythm of the heart, said staff had put his health ‘at risk’ by preventing him from being able to attend the appointment at Royal Preston Hospital.

Campaigners said it highlighted the need for a full range of services at Burnley General Hospital.

Mr McDonald also suffers from seizures, which lead to blackouts, although doctors have yet to establish what causes the episodes.

The father-of-one was due to undergo a table tilt test at Royal Preston Hospital, on Friday, as part of doctors’ attempts to establish what is causing the fits.

But he had to cancel when the Patient Transport Service refused to collect him from his Tavistock Street home.

Mr McDonald said: “When I went for tests the week before they said I shouldn’t take public transport because I could have a fit, so I asked the Patient Transport Service.

“That’s what they’re there for, isn’t it?

“They could not give me a reason why they wouldn’t take me. They’re putting my health at risk.”

Mr McDonald is a qualified mechanic and has worked in advertising, but now his illness prevents him from having a job.

Last June he suffered a fit outside Burnley General Hospital, but was taken 15 miles to Royal Blackburn Hospital.

Coun Eileen Ansar said: “The way he’s been treated is disgusting.

“They used to do this test at Burnley, but it was moved to Blackburn and then Preston, so what used to be a half-hour or hour-long trip is now two hours for people who could have heart problems.”

Mr McDonald has booked a new appointment for October 19.

No-one from the Patient Transport Service was available for comment.