Eye surgeon secret deal
Woman claimed Scots medic on expert panel left her sight impaired
A SCOTS eye surgeon joined an expert panel to overhaul his industry’s safety record despite having paid compensation to a patient.
Ophthalmologist David Teenan, of Optical Express, made an undisclosed payment to a Glasgow woman who claimed her sight had been damaged during a procedure. But Dr Teenan did so under a non-disclosure agreement, meaning he had an unblemished record when he was appointed to a task force of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists aimed at overhauling industry guidelines.
The patient, who cannot be named, is one of a number of patients to win compensation after eye surgery went wrong.
Firms such as Optical Express, which posted growing losses this week, carry out tens of thousands of the procedures, most, the industry says, without problems.
However, the Royal College is now investigating whether Dr Teenan should be on its Refractive Standards Working Group after a meeting with shadow chancellor John McDonnell, who is campaigning for improved standards.
Mr McDonnell said: “Following our meeting I expect the College will now thoroughly investigate all allegations and ongoing legal proceedings relating to members of the working group.”
The patient underwent refractive lens exchange at an Optical Express clinic, which physically replaced parts of her eye in 2010.
The woman spent £4,800 on the operation. Speaking previously, she said: “It has made my eyes worse than before. It’s like looking through a fogged-up window and at night I get ‘starbursts’ of light when I look at something bright.”
Her eyesight remained poor and she decided to take legal action. After years of legal wrangling, she accepted a settlement on the condition of no publicity last January.
Dr Teenan was appointed to the working group in May. In October, after he joined the group, he faced further action for £75,000 in damages from another patient.
Optical Express defended the surgeon, saying: “David Teenan is one of the world’s leading ophthalmic surgeons, having performed more than 42,000 eye surgery procedures.
“While refractive surgery is considered very safe, there is – as with any other form of surgery – a risk of complication and David, like all other surgeons in the healthcare sector, is at risk of becoming involved in legal proceedings.
“We are proud of David Teenan’s contribution to laser eye surgery in the UK and Europe and are confident his appointment to the Royal College of Ophthalmologists Refractive Surgery Working Group will help to produce refractive surgery standards that benefit all patients undergoing refractive procedures, including those treated within the NHS and by our competitors.”
Eye campaigner Sasha Rodoy said: “It’s farcical to ask a surgeon with multiple legal claims in process against him to participate in writing new guidelines and standards.”
The Royal College declined to comment on the matter.