A patient with a life-threatening heart condition has complained he is not getting the correct treatment because his medical notes keep going missing.

On the last four occasions Alfred Coomber has visited the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, he has been told vital information about his treatment has been lost.

Mr Coomber, 67, of Firle Road, Peacehaven, believes the series of administrative errors is putting his life in danger because important information about his condition is not being passed on to specialists treating him.

Today the hospital watchdog said his case was symptomatic of a widespread culture of faulty administration, which was putting patients at risk.

Rosemary Shepherd, chairman of the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals Public and Patient Involvement Forum, said: "It is very dangerous and it wastes time.

"I see it as unsatisfactory for consultants and unsatisfactory for the patient."

Mr Coomber has visited four different consultants in 18 months, none of whom had his notes.

He has made a formal complaint to the Royal Sussex County Hospital, where he has been treated for more than 20 years.

He said: "Over the years what's in those files has kept me alive.

"If they lost my files and had to start again, I don't think they'd find out as much as they did.

"I feel terribly ashamed to have to complain about the hospital.

"At the same time if something isn't done about it, people could die."

A former dustman, lorry driver and mechanic, Mr Coomber suffers from angina, a hiatus hernia, polymyalgia - an enlarging of the heart - and back injuries.

He had a quadruple heart bypass at King's College Hospital in 1981 and a triple bypass at the Royal Sussex in 2000.

He said: "I have been going there since I was 39 years old. It's going downhill so fast."

At his last appointment, the consultant suggested Mr Coomber should have a sonar scan. He explained he had the scan a few weeks earlier.

He said: "If a doctor has never had your notes, how are they supposed to know what's wrong with you?"

Mr Coomber, who takes 13 tablets a day, has a dangerous allergy to a drug sometimes used to treat his condition.

He is worried that if his notes are not available, he might be prescribed it.

He said: "That is one of the things that scares me.

"The notes should be there. They said they were going to computerise but it hasn't been done yet so the notes have to be wherever you are at that time."

The Royal Sussex came under fire from public sector union Unison last year for sending notes to South Africa to be typed.

There are long-term plans to computerise medical records but at present, paper notes have to be carried between departments.

The hospital issued an apology to Mr Coomber.

A spokeswoman for the NHS trust said: "We understand Mr Coomber's frustration that his notes were not available for some of his consultations and we will investigate this matter.

"The trust has an electronic tracking system for all records and a 24/7 retrieval service to ensure notes are available for appointments and we need to look into why this did not happen."

Have you been poorly treated by your hospital? Contact The Argus newsdesk on 01273 544514 or email news@theargus.co.uk