A MAN who bought a machine to help him breathe has to sign it over to a hospital before health officials agree to service it.

Anthony Neal forked out £349 after he was told it would take four months to get one for free The 60-year-old suffers from Sleep Apnoea which causes him to miss breaths at night and can lead to high blood pressure and heart problems.

Following sleep tests, he was told he needed a continuous positive airway pressure machine and was referred to a specialist chest consultant in London.

Mr Neal, of Freshwater Crescent, Heybridge, said: “The consultant said I needed the machine, but there was a three to four-month wait for one.

“I bought one myself for £349 so I could have it in two days.

“I was told the hospital would provide a mask and service the machine once a year, but only if I agreed to sign over the machine so that the hospital owns it if I no longer need it.

“I’d be paying for a machine that is in effect the hospital’s as I would not be able to sell it and realise some money back if I did not need it any more.”

Mr Neal was even more frustrated when his research on a sleep disorder forum revealed other health authorities quickly provide free machines.

A spokesman for NHS Mid Essex said its patient experience team was looking into the matter.