REGARDING your report on the waiting list for the pain management clinic at Blackburn Infirmary (LET, May 27), the situation regarding waiting lists in general needs addressing there.

I am on a 30-week waiting list for an MRI scan and am unable to receive further procedures until the scan has been completed. Originally, I was sent a letter stating that the waiting list was 26 weeks in March, 2003. However, as of last week this had increased by a month.

In the meantime, I still have a medical problem which, I accept, is not life-threatening, but is affecting my quality of life. Also, I ask the question, after the scan, how long is the waiting list for the surgery? Is this a way of manipulating waiting lists?

Name and address received.