FORMER police officer Tom Condliff is the first patient in Britain to take a health trust to the High Court for denying him a life-saving operation.
The trust says the desperately-ill grandfather is not fat enough to have the stomach surgery he needs to lose weight and conquer 13 different illnesses.
But if 62-year-old Mr Condliff, from Talke, lived less than a mile away in Stoke-on-Trent, he could have the treatment as he would be under a different primary care trust.
Now, he is taking North Staffordshire PCT to court under the Human Rights Act and on the grounds that the decision is costing the NHS money as the gastric bypass operation will stop him needing expensive medication.
Mr Condliff, who is now confined to a wheelchair, served as a medic with the Royal Navy before joining the police.
He said: "This is not a question of me wanting this operation – in fact it's something I'd rather avoid as it's very unpleasant and involves removing part of my intestine and stomach.
"But put bluntly, I need it to save my life and if I don't get it, doctors say my kidneys will quickly fail and then I'll have three years to live.
"It's not about vanity or gluttony either. I'm not a vain man and I've always been fit and active, but my weight has ballooned purely because of the drugs I need for all my illnesses."
Mr Condliff has to take 28 different drugs to try to keep his ailments in check.
They all stem from his long-standing diabetes, which has swung out of control in the past two years as he has gained 66lbs. He now needs 10 insulin injections a day.
He weighs 22 stone, giving him a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 43. He needs a BMI of at least 50 for NHS North Staffordshire to fund a gastric bypass.
His lawyers point to the National Institute of Clinical Excellence rules, which state a BMI of 35 is high enough to trigger treatment, as long as the patient has other illnesses besides obesity.
That directive is followed by the city's PCT but Mr Condliff's Chester Close bungalow is a mile away from the city border.
Medical evidence backing his case at Manchester High Court next month will be given by three professors, four consultants, two GPs and a diabetic nurse specialist and chief dietician.
If he wins, the surgery will be carried out using keyhole techniques at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire as medics say he is now too ill to withstand a conventional operation.
The surgery costs �9,000 but Mr Condliff has been told by consultants that the benefits will be so great he will no longer need drugs, hospital appointments or a wheelchair, all of which come with a price tag of �20,000 a year.
If he doesn't get the surgery and then needs kidney dialysis, the cost of his care will double.
A spokesman for NHS North Staffordshire said: "We understand patients find it disappointing when they cannot simply have any treatment they would like.
"These are difficult decisions and we aim to do the best for our patient population with the limited funds we have."
Mr Condliff was put forward for surgery 18 months ago, with the PCT refusing funding last March and again in October. I know this is David versus Goliath but I was left with no option but to use the law to stay alive," said Mr Condliff.
The legal action, scheduled for March 23 and 24, has been funded through a private insurance scheme.
His lawyer, Oliver Wright, said: "This will be the first case of its kind before the High Court.
"Our judicial review of the funding refusal is based on the fact he has been treated unfairly under the Human Rights Act. Each case has its own merit and while it won't open the floodgates if he wins, it will make it easier for others in the same position."
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