Surge in private cataract patients
The number of cataract patients being treated privately has soared 22% in the past year as people give up on NHS waiting lists, according to data from an independent eye clinic.
There are 6.6m patients waiting for treatment in England with 331,623 waiting over a year and 8,028 for more than two years.
OCL Vision said the increase in private patients had boosted its income by 30%.
Cataract operations, said to be the most common self-funded medical procedure, increased by 56% to 12,700 last year.
Mr Romesh Angunawela
Mr Romesh Angunawela, ophthalmic surgeon and co-founder of OCL Vision, said: ‘The effects of the pandemic have caused record waiting lists to increase even further, hitting cataract patients disproportionately hard.
‘Cataract surgery has long been one of the most common self-funded medical procedures, despite the disruption that cataracts can cause to sight, and this trend looks set to continue.
‘More people are coming through our door as the private sector steps in to reduce the burden on the NHS.’
OCL Vision brands itself as the only surgeon-owned, comprehensive private eye care facility in London.
Its flagship clinic on New Cavendish Street provides a wide range of eye-related surgical procedures including cataract surgery, LASIK and LASEK laser eye surgery, refractive lens exchange surgery as well as other types of surgical vision correction techniques.
The clinic offers glaucoma laser surgery, retinal therapy for diabetes and macular degeneration and now cosmetic and reconstructive eyelid surgery and facial rejuvenation. It has several additional locations across London, Hertfordshire and Kent.