A woman was forced to travel abroad for a medical scan after the NHS took ten months to arrange an appointment.

The woman was referred to the former Southern General Hospital in Glasgow by her GP for checks to be made for possible secondary infertility.

A procedure to detect whether the fallopian tubes were damaged or blocked, known as a HyCoSy scan, as well as blood tests were recommended.

However, the board took ten months to arrange the scan and the woman said that because of the time it was taking to see a consultant gynaecologist she arranged to be seen privately oversees.

The case was revealed in a report by Scotland's public services watchdog (SPSO) in which NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) were heavily criticised and forced to apologise.

The woman, known only as Ms C, took the decision to travel abroad because the health board "could not provide her with a timescale" of when she would get an appointment and was suffering severe abdominal pain.

The private consultant gynaecologist reviewed the results of her HyCoSy scan and carried out an ultrasound.

As a result, he recommended a laparoscopy to confirm, and if needed, treat endometriosis, a disease which affects the womb.

A laparoscopy is a surgical procedure that allows a surgeon to access the inside of the abdomen and pelvis through a small hole in the skin.

Ms C said that despite giving this information to a consultant gynaecologist at NHSGGC, they refused to arrange the procedure for her.

She then had to pay for the laparoscopy procedure to be done privately abroad. It confirmed a diagnosis of endometriosis and she had surgery to treat and cure her symptoms.

The watchdog slammed NHSGGC over their handling of the woman's case and said there was an "unacceptable delay" in arranging a scan.

The SPSO added that a laparoscopy should have been given to Ms C and ordered them to pay for the treatment she received abroad.

The report, which was published on Wednesday, says: "We took independent advice from a consultant gynaecologist. We found that there was an unacceptable delay in arranging Ms C's HyCoSy scan, the result of which was not normal and that a laparoscopy should have been arranged for Ms C by the board.

"Based on the clinical advice we received, we were satisfied that the board should have offered Ms C a laparoscopy to provide the definitive diagnosis. Therefore, we upheld Ms C's complaint.

"We were also critical that the board were unable to locate and provide us with Ms C's complete clinical records and we made a recommendation to address this.

"We recommended that the board apologise to Ms C for the delay in arranging a HyCoSy scan, the failure to offer her a laparoscopy and for losing her medical records and refund to Ms C the invoiced cost of her ultrasound scan, laparoscopy and associated treatment arranged abroad."

A spokeswoman for NHSGGC said: "We have received the Ombudsman's report and fully accept the recommendations.

"We have previously written to the patient offering our sincere apologies for the failings identified with her care and will now make arrangements to reimburse her for the cost of her surgery abroad.

"We have already put in place an action plan and as a direct result of the issue raised by this patient on her medical notes our health records team have taken the opportunity to reiterate to all our staff the importance of tracering case records at all times.

"We will also provide a report to the Ombudsman to demonstrate that we have addressed his recommendations fully."