The head of Barnet Hospital's breast unit blamed its poor performance in the recent NHS ratings on a blip when he was on holiday.

Lead surgeon Rashid Qureshi said two of his patients had threatened to find treatment elsewhere after the survey deemed the unit 'under-achieving' in the time it took to see suspected breast cancer patients.

But he criticised the way the ratings were conducted, taking a sample of patients over a period of two weeks in February when he was on holiday.

The unit failed to see 80 per cent of patients within the recommended two weeks after an urgent GP referral.

"I have not taken my annual leave for seven years to maintain this service.

"I am entitled to six weeks' annual leave and I only take one-and-a-half to two weeks so I can see my patients," said Mr Qureshi, who set up the breast cancer unit 25 years ago.

Since his return the hospital says it has seen all patients within the two-week limit.

"I feel very possessive of my unit. I like it to run smoothly but I have to be here. The ratings really have depressed us enormously it's so heartbreaking."

Roger Chapman, chairman of Barnet Community Health Council (CHC), the borough's patient watchdog, criticised the department's reliance on one man.

"It seems unfair to rely purely on one person to ensure that the service is maintained at that level. There's an underlying management issue that needs to be properly addressed."

A spokeswoman for the hospital said there had been a problem getting a locum consultant in to cover for Mr Qureshi.

She added: "When a doctor decides he wants to go on holiday it is about us looking as soon as possible to make sure we can get someone to cover."