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Official figures reveal that visually impaired people are forced to wait almost six months before they can operate in the NHS.
Patients in Herefordshire face average delays of 168 days – five months and 17 days – for cataract surgery, according to data collected by NHS Digital, the statistical arm of the health service. Waiting times in Great Yarmouth and Waveney, in Norfolk, are the second worst in England, with 163 days, while they are on average 154 days in North Lincolnshire.
The revelations triggered warnings that those primarily affected were at increased risk of falling, as their eyesight was so impaired while waiting, and that too many Clinical Delivery Groups (CCGs) limited access to the operation in order to: save money.
"It is shocking that patients wait months and see themselves too often refused a cataract operation," said Helen Lee, policy officer at the Royal Institute for the Blind.
"People often lose their independence and become depressed because they can not do ordinary things like driving, going out at night and seeing bus numbers. People are more prone to falls, which can lead to hip fractures and hospitalization, which can be devastating. "
She has accused many local NHS organizations of challenging the guidelines of the National Institute for Excellence in Health and Care, according to which people with cataracts should be expelled without delay if their cataract gave them blurred vision and impaired their quality of life. However, many CCGs refuse to treat patients whose eyesight has not sufficiently deteriorated.
The number of people who have eliminated cataracts by the NHS has been steadily increasing over the past decade – from 284,897 in 2007-08 to 377,397 in 2017-18. The vast majority of those undergoing surgery are 70 years of age or older.
But the NHS Digital figures show that for many, this is an extremely slow process. Residents in 17 GCC areas must wait at least four months on average to operate. In North Cumbria and Dudley, for example, the average wait is four months and 28 days, while in Harrogate and Vale of York it is four months and 26 days.
In addition, waiting times for cataract removal have increased by three months in some locations since 2014, according to the data. Average wait times in Great Yarmouth and Waveney CGC more than doubled from 71 days in 2014-15 to 163 days in April-October 2018, the latest period for which figures are available. It's an increase of 92 days or 130%. Similarly, wait times increased by 83 days in Dudley, Vale of York and North Lincolnshire CCGs.
NHS Digital shows the average time in days that people have to wait in the 195 areas of the CCG. It does not give the longest delays experienced by individual patients, which in many cases will be much longer than average.
Geoffrey Dean, 80, had a cataract in Leeds with his left eye on July 9, after a supposedly 18-week (126 days) maximum wait for the NHS for non-urgent care. "It's just frustration after frustration for me, waiting for the surgery I needed. I was about to go private because I was so frustrated to wait so long before removing it from the NHS, "he said.
He fell while waiting for the operation, injuring himself at the hip. He also had to give up driving – "My car is my lifeline because I'm all alone" after his eyesight has deteriorated to the point of being at risk driving. However, his sight in his left eye is now "fantastic" and he hopes to be able to resume driving after the cataract in his right eye has been removed.
The longer delays and the increasing demand for cataract operations are forcing the NHS to send an increasing number of patients to private treatment. In 2013-2014, 41,860 people were removed from cataract by independent providers. That number had risen to 75,005 in 2017-2018 – an increase of 79% in four years – reveal separate numbers from NHS Digital.
This means that nearly one in 377,397 cataract surgeries funded by the NHS in England that year have been practiced in the private sector. UNITED KINGDOM. He promises to treat people within eight weeks. The growing number of cataract patients that it treats includes those to whom the NHS has refused treatment, a spokeswoman said.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs said: "We expect all patients to have rapid access to cataract surgery. Thanks to our long-term NHS plan, we will increase the number of scheduled procedures and reduce waiting lists. "
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