More than half of NHS boards rationing vital surgery in a... New cataract ops scandal
MORE than half of NHS health boards are still denying vital cataract surgery to people losing their sight –despite being ordered to stop rationing the operations.
Some 104 of the 195 clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in England have put cataract operations on a list of ‘ procedures of limited clinical value’, enabling them to offer procedures only to those with the very worst sight.
Experts say this is a gross misuse of the list which is meant to be used for treatments of dubious worth, such as tattoo removal.
The tactic by CCGs, which decide how to spend NHS budgets in their areas, is in defiance of official guidelines drawn up in October 2017. These specifically say that access to cataract surgery should not be restricted on the basis of how bad someone’s eyesight is, but instead how it is affecting their life.
But the guidelines, drawn up by NHS standards watchdog NICE, are not legally binding.
In many areas, officials set a ‘visual acuity’ threshold – for example, considering a patient for an op only if they score below six out of 12 for their eyesight.
Up to half of over- 65s – 4.5million people in England – have some degree of cataract growth. But the NHS performs 400,000 operations a year.
A cataract occurs when the lens becomes cloudy with age, causing blurred vision and trouble seeing at night. A 30-minute £1,000 operation replaces the lens with an artificial implant. The guidelines were ordered after the Daily Mail’s Save Our Sight campaign exposed the cruelty of patients being granted the operation on the basis of where they lived.
The new data was compiled by the Medical Technology Group, a coalition of technology companies, charities and patient groups, which has launched a campaign called Ration Watch. Helen Lee, from the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), said: ‘We know that restrictions or delays to cataract surgery can severely impact people’s ability to lead independent lives. It’s shocking that access to this life- changing surgery is being unnecessarily restricted by so many CCGs.’
A spokesman for NHS Clinical Commissioners, which represents CCGs, said: ‘ Unfortunately, the NHS does not have unlimited resources and ensuronly ing patients get the best possible care against a backdrop of spiralling demands, competing priorities and increasing financial pressures is one of the biggest issues CCGs face.
‘As a result, there are some tough choices that have to be made, which we appreciate can be difficult for some patients.’
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: ‘It is completely unacceptable for CCGs to ignore crucial clinical guidelines. If there is evidence of rationing care, we expect NHS England to intervene.’