A WOMAN who contracted meningitis was told by an emergency doctor that she would have to wait six hours before she could be seen.

Eileen Crutchlow, aged 51, fell ill with flu-like symptoms and became gradually more ill as the day went on.

Bacterial meningitis is fatal in one in 10 cases and leaves one in seven survivors with serious disabilities.

Partner, Roy Melville, aged 54, telephoned the emergency doctor service which covers Bolton -- but he was told it would be up to six hours before she would be seen.

In the end, the doctor rang to say he had left two prescriptions at a chemist in Bolton and said there was no need for him to see her.

Miss Crutchlow continued getting worse and in desperation Mr Melville called NHS Direct only to be told he would have to wait two hours to speak to a nurse.

After persisting, an ambulance was sent to their house on Hollowell Lane, Horwich, and Miss Crutchlow was taken to the Royal Bolton Hospital -- where she was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis.

It was 11 hours after the symptoms first surfaced. Had she left it another couple of hours, she was told by a hospital doctor, her condition would have been severe -- and could have left her battling for her life.

Instead, the 51-year-old recovered although she has had a fit and fears she has lost some hearing.

Her daughter Angela Holroyd, aged 29, of Ardley Road, Horwich, said: "The doctor told us she was very lucky. My mum was suffering with a headache, temperature and a cough.

"She was in so much pain and we were concerned. The doctor said it sounded as if she had flu which was to expected around this time of year.

"My mum was in agony and said she felt like she'd been in a car crash."

Mrs Holroyd has written to the Horwich practice to complain.

A spokesman for Bolton Primary Care Trust which is in charge of all non-hospital NHS services in Bolton, said: "We are sorry to hear of Mrs Crutchlow's illness and of her family's concerns.

"The PCT would advise any patient or family with concerns about services provided by a GP to raise the issue in the first instance with the practice concerned, as this family have done, and to contact us if the matter is not resolved."