Cataract Surgery: Private or NHS

[Slyngel]

I'm 68 and have been told by my optician that I need cataract surgery in both eyes. It's not affecting me terribly badly but I find night-time driving a challenge (which I avoid as much as possible) and sometimes have difficulty with small print, particularly where the background is not white.
I can well afford private surgery (it's about £6000 for two eyes) without hardship. NHS waiting list is about a year.
Just wondered if anyone has experience of this and could give me a view on whether I should pay privately. Nothing against private medicine but I don't want to pay for something I can get from my taxes (hope that doesn't sound mean but who wants to throw away £6K?)
Many thanks and hopefully look forward to thoughts, experiences.

Ask your optician about 'patient choice '. NHS authorised private clinics as an alternative to NHS waiting lists.

Many thanks. Not sure that exists in Scotland but I will investigate.

Boots opticians and vision express branches near me offer it. If your current optician doesn't it might be worth ringing around

Many thanks. I will do that

I would pay privately. There are options for IOLs (the lens they put in the eye after they remove the cataract) that are available privately but not on the NHS, such as multifocals and torics. You’d need to discuss with the surgeon to find out what would be best suited to your lifestyle.

My mum and a friend of mine were referred on the NHS and were seen within a couple of weeks. They were referred to a clinic contracted by the NHS. It was super efficient. My mum didn’t need surgery in the end but my friend had it done a few weeks later.