A BOLTON teenager waiting for a kidney transplant has to endure a 30-mile round trip to hospital three times a week for treatment.

Health bosses say 19-year-old Matthew Rimmer isn't a priority for the patient transport service.

Matthew is waiting for a transplant to cure a hereditary condition of kidney failure but has to travel at least three times a week to Hope Hospital in Salford for dialysis.

Because he is not a priority for the transport service his widowed mother Marlene has been forced to give up her job as a teacher so she can drive Matthew the 15 miles from their home in Harwood, leave him to have the treatment, and then pick him up five hours later -- clocking up around 160 miles each week.

The bus journey takes too long and taxis are too expensive for the family.

Matthew can't have the treatment in Bolton because there aren't the facilities.

And after the BEN contacted MP David Crausby he said he would take up his case and press NHS bosses to improve provision in Bolton so he could receive dialysis in the town.

Matthew, of Brook Gardens, Harwood, was first diagnosed with Allports Syndrome when he was two years old.

His family was told it was inevitable his kidneys would eventually fail him -- but probably not until he was in his 20s. In November 1998, his kidneys failed and he was forced to quit his college course to start dialysis at Hope Hospital.

At first, the hospital provided transport and the situation was manageable.

Last April, he received a letter telling him transport was no longer available because funds were exhausted.

His mother Marlene said: "How was my son expected to get to Hope? I had to work and he didn't drive, and the journey takes almost three hours one way by public transport.

"Very often he is not well enough to travel by taxi."

Mrs Rimmer had no choice but to resign from work to take Matthew three times a week.

Now she has a part-time job she manages to fit the journeys into a tight schedule.

Mrs Rimmer said: "This system has failed us. My son should be able to get treatment in a town the size of Bolton and not have these transport problems. People who make these decisions should get from behind their desks, get into the real world and experience the problems at first hand."

Matthew, a former pupil of Turton High School, said: "I try to keep my life as normal as I can."

MP Mr Crausby said: "I will press for transport to be provided and take up the wider issue of provision in Bolton."

A Salford Royal Hospitals NHS Trust spokesman said: "We are looking into why an ambulance request for this patient was turned down."

We want to hear from you if you feel you have been let down by the NHS. Write to Louise Tansey, Health Reporter, BEN, Newspaper House, Churchgate, Bolton, BL1 1DE.