Patients with complex eye conditions risk going blind due to treatment delays linked to clinicians prioritising simpler and better paid procedures, say medical professionals and campaigners
NHS patients with complex eye conditions risk losing their sight as clinicians prioritise simpler and better-paid procedures, it is claimed.
Experts warned of treatment delays due the rise in fees paid to independent medics by the NHS for cataract removal. NHS consultants are also doing more private work, meaning fewer NHS patients are seen. Dr Ben Burton, president of the Royal College of Ophthalmology, said the system is on the brink.
He said clinics could choose simpler procedures, with more complex ones falling on the NHS. Dr Ben Burton added: “These are consultants that were doing glaucoma, a blinding irreversible condition, or treating irreversible macular disease.”
The number of cataract procedures rose from 451,000 in 2019-2020 to 676,000 in 2023-2024, NHS England data shows. But only 393,600 (66%) of ophthalmology patients got treated within 18 weeks. Some 1.6% out of 589,508 waited a year. The price paid for complex cataract surgeries rose from £861 in recent years to £1,216 from 2019 to 2022. But the NHS cut fees for the two most complex procedures last year by 12% to £993.
Minor procedures are up from £739 to £837. Several can be done in a day, which is lucrative. Surgeon-turned Labour MP Dr Peter Prinsley said some areas could become “ophthalmic deserts”.
He added: “The tariff needs to change.” Robert Cooper, of the Royal National Institute of Blind People, said some patients’ vision is deteriorating due to delays. Bernice Evans, 82, from Cambridgeshire, had to wait 16 weeks, rather than eight, for macular degeneration eye jabs. She said: “It does make you worry.”
Ed Holloway, chief of the Macular Society, said: “Eye care services are underfunded and struggling to meet the needs of an aging population. The NHS said it is assessing the impact of the “rapid growth of the independent sector” and wants to “ensure the sustainability of services for all eyecare conditions”.
