Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

GP has told me I need to go private to have cataracts surgery

101 replies

user1474095534 · 17/09/2016 08:09

It seems like they will only do surgery if it gets so bad you are loosing your eye sight, by this time it's too late! It's surgery that isn't too expensive and has a great success rate so it should be readily available.

I did work for over 30 years, always paid my stamp in return for cradle to grave health care, but I don't think the government are sticking to their side of the contract.

OP posts:
Musicaltheatremum · 17/09/2016 08:30

There is an optimum time to do it. There has to be something to gain. If your vision isn't too badly affected then don't get an operation which could make it worse if it goes wrong. I think that's the rationale used all over.

MumOnTheRunCatchingUp · 17/09/2016 08:32

There's probably long long waiting lists

Thatznotmyname · 17/09/2016 08:33

Is it the GPS decision? Surely they should refer you to the surgeon?

FeckinCrutches · 17/09/2016 08:37

You can only get referred for cataract surgery if they are at a certain level. You must not have reached that stage yet.

LIZS · 17/09/2016 08:37

Can your optician refer you? Unfortunately nhs do prioritise based on severity but if you went on the list now it might not get to that stage. I believe it isn't an expensive op privately as you don't need a general anaesthetic or to stay in longer than a few hours.

Ginmakesitallok · 17/09/2016 08:41

Paying your "stamp" for years doesn't mean that you suddenly become top priority for the nhs. Nhs resources are limited, therefore access to services is limited. If we want more services we have to pay for them. (Speaking as a mum who's daughter has been waiting 4 months for an op, with no date in sight)

Sirzy · 17/09/2016 08:44

No matter what you have paid in where there still has to be criteria for what is eligible and needs treatment and what doesn't. If you want treatment when you don't meet that criteria then yes you will be expected to go private - may be worth considering why the criteria are set as they are though if it is worth spending money on it.

ABloodyDifficultWoman · 17/09/2016 08:45

paid my stamp? Who even talks like this any more?

YABU. Wait till you fit the criteria or go private. The NHS is crumbling and nobody owes you anything.

ilovesooty · 17/09/2016 08:45

It's not a top priority for surgery at this stage evidently.

MoonriseKingdom · 17/09/2016 08:46

It's not the GP or the surgeon thatz. There will be local rules set regarding what degree of visual impairment qualifies for surgery. Have a look online to see what local guidelines are. Unfortunately rules in a lot of places have become much stricter for financial reasons. This is controversial because as you say it is an operation with a very high rate of success and people are having to suffer before they can access it. If cataracts become too dense I think it can actually make surgery more difficult.

Carriemac · 17/09/2016 08:46

It's the creeping privatisation of the NHS . Support the junior doctors !

LunaLoveg00d · 17/09/2016 08:48

My friend is an eye surgeon and does this sort of operation. Waiting lists are long and getting longer as cataracts affect more older people and we're all living longer. She often does a theatre session on a Saturday to try to cut the waiting list a bit.

NHS will put you on the list once you meet the criteria for surgery, if you're not there yet private is the only option. All this talk of "paying your stamp" is irrelevant. NHS isn't like some sort of private savings account and besides, there haven't been "stamps" for over 40 years.

Your GP has explained your options and it is now your choice what route you take.

SleepFreeZone · 17/09/2016 08:50

You're right. My dad had his sine about 8 years ago free of charge. He now has 20/20 vision again. My mum has reached the same age and they are advising her that it is now a private procedure.

SleepFreeZone · 17/09/2016 08:50

*done

MoonriseKingdom · 17/09/2016 08:58

There is a debate as to what the criteria should be though. Too early surgery and the procedure (and it's risks) may have been unnecessary. However, making referral criteria too tight may be a false economy (ie more difficult surgery). It pushes people to go private and we will head towards a two tier health service.

PacificDogwod · 17/09/2016 09:03

Even if you were to see somebody privately, they ought to advise you whether it is the 'right' time to operate on your cataracts. They need to be 'mature' (disclaimer: I am not an ophthalmologist).
In most places, there are well established pathways to cataract surgery and tons of them are done.

If you don't trust the opinion you have been given, then ask for a second opinion. But there is most certainly such a thing as early cataract that should not be operated on.

What age are you?
And how much are your cataract affecting your sight just now?

Both my parents had their cataracts done in the last couple of years - my dad had a brilliant result, my mum had significant complications with one of her eyes - it's not an operation without risks (well, there is not such thing).

pointythings · 17/09/2016 09:18

I had an optician referral for mine and yes, criteria are tight. I got my referral because I drive, an full time employed, had impaired night vision and had a difference in diopter between my eyes of greater than 3 points. You have to meet a lot of criteria to be referred.

It is life-changing though, I can see amazingly now and my archery scores are stellar. As PP have said going private is not that expensive either - though a private surgeon may find that you are not yet at the stage where you would really need the surgery.

user1474095534 · 19/09/2016 12:13

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Stillunexpected · 19/09/2016 12:33

That's an article which quotes only the director of a private laser surgery practice - he's hardly going to say that the NHS are doing a great job are they?! They are the ones benefitting from people going private. I'm afraid you're going to have to provide some more scientific, unbiased proof than this!

I expect that there are many people on the waiting list for cataract operations but the NHS is getting more and more squeezed all the time and regardless of the waiting lists, that doesn't mean that you specifically need to be on the waiting list as well! How bad is your eye sight at the moment if the GP doesn't think you qualify for the surgery?

user1474095534 · 19/09/2016 12:42

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

IWantAnotherBaby · 19/09/2016 12:46

Random pointless cut-and-pasting doesn't really help make your case...

SallyVating · 19/09/2016 12:49

Claig is that you?

Lorelei76 · 19/09/2016 12:54

write to your local MP by the way

also ask for optician referral

I've seen the test you have to "fail" to get a cataract operation when my mum had hers

I'm amazed that people are expected to get that bad before an op will be paid for.

MatildaTheCat · 19/09/2016 12:59

Wow, your eyesight really is poor.

Ask for a second opinion? Both my parents had theirs done very successfully and only waited about 6-10 weeks so it is very much available on the nhs.

Let me give you some deadly serious advice: be wary, very wary of a private surgeon who offers you surgery when an NHS surgeon has said it is unnecessary or not the correct time to perform the operation. Private surgeons have financial incentives to do operations whereas the nhs opinion is not based on his own gain but rather the risks and benefits to you, the patient, the person who will live with the consequences.

claraschu · 19/09/2016 13:11

It's not that simple Matilda, unfortunately. Sometimes the NHS doesn't recommend things that aren't cost effective, statistically speaking, but would be hugely beneficial to a particular person.

My son had a football injury, and had to have pins in his knee. A year later, after seeing several doctors, my son still had a lot of pain, but the NHS insisted that he was ok enough. It took me being a real nuisance, begging and crying, for them to refer him to the right specialist. He had another operation to fix the problem and is now fine.

His physio was crap, and when I asked a doctor if I should take him for physio privately, they said not to, which was also the wrong advice.

The NHS has to save money, and sometimes this is not for the benefit of the patient.