Average cataract surgery wait time increases in NHS
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NHS hospitals in England have reported increased wait times for cataract surgery procedures, with an 84% increase from 2019 to 2021, according to a press release from OCL Vision.
On average, patients at the reporting hospitals waited more than 9 months from the time of their referral until surgery. The longest reported wait time was 94 weeks at King’s College Hospital, while the shortest wait time was 10 weeks at Luton and Dunstable University Hospital.
“Cataracts are progressive over time, so the longer the wait, the worse they get,” Ali Mearza, MBBS, FRCOphth, consultant ophthalmic surgeon at OCL Vision, said in the release. “This translates to further worsening of vision, which in turn can affect people’s independence and quality of life.”
The median wait time for all procedures in the NHS in 2021 is 10 weeks, the release said, with the median wait time for ophthalmology-specific procedures being 11 weeks.
“However, a large proportion of these patients will require urgent surgery, driving the average wait time down. Cataract surgery waiting lists are some of the longest in the NHS due to this procedure being of a comparatively low clinical priority,” the release said.
Perspective
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Sheraz Daya, MD, FACP, FACS, FRCS(Ed), FRCOphth
We at Centre for Sight, now 25 years old, are a private group and as a service to the community have offered to provide increased capacity for National Health Service work and will be performing surgery on its behalf this month. Additionally, we provide discounted one-stop cataract surgery for those on NHS waiting lists. Those availing themselves of the service see a consultant and go on to have surgery on the same day. Patients and their families find this convenient and are pleased at the considerable reduction in price (more than 35%). We hope this sort of socially responsible option will both help out waiting lists and perhaps be adopted by colleagues and worthy rival private organizations.
The issue is real, and we as private providers must act in a socially responsible manner to help our community and nation.
Untreated cataract has been associated with increased dementia as well as falls/hip fractures and most worryingly increased mortality — serious ramifications for an easily performed sight-restoring procedure.
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