MUM Bester Chamboko says she cannot get the tests needed to diagnose her daughter's mystery medical condition because of NHS rules.

MUM Bester Chamboko says she cannot get the tests needed to diagnose her daughter's mystery medical condition because of NHS rules.

Mother-of-two Miss Chamboko said nine-year-old Carol was born underweight, could not sleep for more than 15 minutes and had to be fed by a tube for ten weeks.

Miss Chamboko, who lives in Zimbabwe, was trained as a midwife in Scotland and worked at hospitals in England between 1975 and 1982. She said that because of NHS rules it means she cannot get medical tests done free.

She said: 'I have got to a point of desperation because Carol is so hard to cope with. She has behavioural problems and is hyperactive. She could not walk for a long time after she was born and still cannot speak. She does not have the quality of life she could have. At least if I knew what she had, we could perhaps get drugs to treat the condition.'

Single parent Miss Chamboko came over to Britain with Carol to see her eldest daughter, Rufaro, a recent graduate of Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College, and is staying at her home in Kitchener Road, High Wycombe.

She said: 'I was hoping while I was here I'd be able to find some way of getting the tests I need for my daughter, but I have been told by the specialist I have not been in the country long enough and she would not qualify. I tried to get her treated in Zimbabwe but they don't have the sophisticated equipment to diagnose her.'

A Department of Health spokesman said to qualify for treatment in the UK Miss Chamboko would have to be classed as a resident, her daughter would have to be proved as dependent on her and her condition could not be pre-existing to her coming to Britain. He said GPs were given leniency in certain circumstances and the system was only set up to prevent people misusing the NHS.