Gynaecologist Richard Neale grossly exaggerated the amount of time a desperate patient would have to wait for a hysterectomy on the NHS to trick her into paying for private treatment, the General Medical Council heard yesterday

Even when Mr Neale, 52, operated on Mrs G at the Friarage Hospital, in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, in June 1992, he performed "the wrong type" of opearation - removing both her ovaries in the process, it was claimed.

But when other women started to complain about alleged botched operations, Mrs G decided to turn sleuth and checked on his claim that she would have had a waiting period of five months for an NHS hysterectomy, the hearing was told.

Dr Michael Walton, former medical director at the hospital, told the council's professional conduct committee that his inquiries had revealed that the average NHS waiting list for outpatients seeking such surgery was nine weeks, while for inpatients it was as little as three weeks.

Asked by council barrister Ian Stern if a patient had ever had to wait for as long as five months for an NHS hysterectomy at the Friarage, Dr Walton replied: "No. Never."

Mr Neale, of The Firs, Langthorpe, Boroughbridge, York, denies performing botched operations, incompetence and negligence against patients, mostly in North Yorkshire, as well as charges of making fraudulent claims for qualifications he did not possess.

He admits one charge of failing to perform a pro-operative x-ray or a post-operative mammogram on a Mrs A to ensure that an area of breast calcifications had been removed. The hearing continues.