A health trust has apologised for the treatment of an elderly diabetic woman at the Oxford eye clinic.

Wheelchair-bound Molly Rawley was kept waiting for more than five hours for a minor laser operation at the Radcliffe Infirmary.

She then had to be brought home to Witney by her daughter rather than an ambulance crew.

Mrs Rawley, 86, of Merryfield Nursing Home in New Yatt Road, was attending the clinic for routine treatment to clear blood vessels in one eye a common problem for elderly diabetics.

Her daughter, Lyn Edmunds, of Manor Road, Ducklington, was angry at her mother's treatment and is considering an official complaint. The Oxfordshire Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust said it was looking into ways of cutting waiting times for patients.

Spokesman Fiona Dalton said: "We are very sorry Mrs Rawley was dissatisfied. The clinic sees hundreds of people each day and it is a high volume service. But we do realise that the problem of waiting times is something we have got to look at.

"In Mrs Rawley's case, she had to see a doctor at 10am and then received the laser treatment later on that afternoon. We will have to see whether we can arrange appointments that come close to each other on the same day."

But the trust rejected Mrs Edmunds' claim that Mrs Rawley was not offered any food or drink.

Ms Dalton added: "Our staff know that diabetics have to eat regularly." *The case follows that of heart patient Ray Kerr, who claims he was left waiting for 13 hours in the casualty department of Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital.