Concerns raised that NHS eye care delays may lead to avoidable blindness

A consultant has expressed concerns that a “tide of avoidable blindness” could sweep Wales if eye care services are not reformed.

The Royal College of Ophthalmologists’ Gwyn Williams said waits for key treatments were “the biggest they’ve ever been”.

Health Minister Eluned Morgan said she “puts her head in her hands” every night over the state of the Welsh NHS.

Mr Williams added that the main areas of ophthalmology with “harmful delays” in Wales were macular degeneration, diabetic eye disease and glaucoma.

Latest data shows that over half of the planned 133,000 appointments for the highest risk eye patients were significantly overdue.

Mr Williams said Wales did not have enough consultant ophthalmologists and must reform the system as recruitment was difficult.  That includes training non-medical practitioners to do work which is traditionally done by doctors, like administering injections, reviewing patients after injections, and preparing patients for cataract surgery.

He went on to say “If we don’t take permanent, proper action to solve these difficulties, I cannot see how the functioning health service can continue.

“Without solving these problems we are at risk of many people in Wales needlessly going blind.”

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Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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