WOMEN who need a specialist breast reconstruction have been left without anyone to carry out their operation.

Mastectomy patients in Greater Manchester would normally go to Wythenshawe Hospital for deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap reconstruction procedure.

When it closed its doors to new patients it was thought Leeds Teaching Hospitals, 50 miles away, would be able to take them on.

Dr Barry Silvert, clinical director of commissioning on Bolton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) board said: "We were looking at trying to see if we could produce some capacity out of area. We looked at Leeds but unfortunately there's no capacity and we're currently unable to find an alternative provider."

The problem was first reported in September when long waiting lists at Wythenshawe meant it had to stop accepting patients from the whole of Greater Manchester.

Plans were made in September to refer patients to Leeds, but by October the CCG was being told Leeds was also struggling with its waiting lists.

This latest set back has left women in Bolton seeking the procedure without anywhere to turn.

Dr Silvert's report, presented to the CCG board last week, said: "The waiting list at Wythenshawe Hospital is likely to remain closed into 2019."

The CCG has been raising the issue as a concern with the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership.

The report adds that more hospitals outside of Greater Manchester have been approached about taking on patients but none have been able to accept.

Dr Silvert's paper concluded: "Patients across Greater Manchester, including Bolton patients, are currently unable to access this treatment."