The Mail, a paper that really cares about people, secures a huge victory as rationing of cataract operations ends

Victory for Mail as NHS told to halt rationing

HEALTH bosses have been ordered to end the shameful rationing of cataract operations in a major victory for the Daily Mail.

Hospitals have been told all sufferers must be offered surgery as soon as their quality of life is affected by vision loss.

Crucially, the NHS watchdog’s rules – the first ever national guidelines – state that medics must ‘not restrict access to cataract surgery’ on the basis of sight-test scores.

The move comes after the Mail’s Save Our Sight campaign showed how restrictions set by health trusts denied many the operations until they were near-blind.

Announcing the rules last night, Jeremy Hunt paid tribute to the Mail for exposing the unfair postcode lottery in eye surgery.

The Health Secretary said: ‘As the Daily Mail rightly highlighted, this move was urgently needed to help put an end to the unfair variations in eye care that have been happening across the country for too long.’

The guidelines were welcomed by campaigners yesterday but, as they are not legally binding, some fear cash-strapped health trusts may ignore the rules.

Up to half of over-65s have cataracts – 4.5million in England – which occur when the eye’s lens becomes cloudy with age. But the NHS performs only 400,000 corrective operations a year, meaning that, though it is a straightforward and relatively inexpensive procedure, many have to go without.

Figures show patients in some areas are four times as likely to be referred for cataract surgery than those living elsewhere.

Health bosses have faced criticism for rationing cataract surgery while spending money elsewhere.

Last month the NHS began prescribing Prep, a controversial drug to prevent HIV, to high-risk patients such as gay men and sex workers.

The guidance from watchdog Nice, which come into force immediately, states that patients – not managers – should have the final say on whether they have the pro- cedure. Medics should also operate on both eyes if needed, rather than only the worst-affected one.

Last year a Mail investigation found three-quarters of hospitals would operate only on those who had performed badly in sight tests. They were following guidance from local clinical commissioning groups, which control budgets and decide who can be treated.

Many patients said they had been refused surgery despite being almost blind, unable to make out loved ones’ faces and needing a magnifying glass to read. Others had been forced to give up hobbies such as painting and bird-watching, while some had to use savings to pay for private treatment.

Cataract surgery costs the NHS £750 per eye and takes 30 to 45 minutes, and many patients say it transforms their lives. The guidance states that, for almost all patients, the operations are an invaluable use of NHS money.

It stresses that without surgery patients are at greater risk of accidents that threaten their quality of life. Mr Hunt said: ‘It is completely unacceptable that patients have had to endure seriously impaired vision and long-term health issues as a result of untreated cataracts, and there have been too many examples of blanket restrictions on treatment.’

Mike Burdon, consultant ophthalmic surgeon at University Hospitals Birmingham and chairman of Nice’s guideline committee, said the rules aimed to give all cataract patients ‘access to timely, sight-restoring surgery’.

But charities are worried the guidelines will be ignored by some health trusts under pressure to save money. Last night health officials pointed out that the NHS could not afford to pay for thousands more cataract operations.

Dr Amanda Doyle, co-chairman of NHS Clinical Commissioners, which represents managers, said the move was ‘obviously wellintended’ but ‘may be simply aspirational’ given the health service’s financial constraints.

Fazilet Hadi, of the Royal National Institute of Blind People, said: ‘The reality is many patients have been denied surgery because an arbitrary threshold has been imposed by clinical commissioning groups. This new guidance makes it clear this is not acceptable.’

The rules had been due to come out on Tuesday but were delayed by a legal challenge from a firm that makes artificial implants. Draft guidelines had suggested doctors avoid the company’s products, but Nice agreed to remove the section in question and carry out further work.