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Investigation reveals doubling in NHS rationing of cataract surgery
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/05/29/investigation-reveals-doubling-nhs-rationing-cataract-surgery/
NHS rationing of cataract operations has doubled in just two years, with patients increasingly denied cases until they are at risk of blindness, an investigation reveals.
Charities warned of “shocking” restrictions, which are in defiance of national guidance.
The figures from across the country show a sharp increase in the number of areas where the NHS is refusing to fund the operations until vision is badly compromised.
It comes despite warnings from the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence that the NHS must not rely on sight tests to decide whether surgery is warranted.
Experts say the rise of rationing is leaving vulnerable pensioners in misery and isolation, and increasing their risk of suffering falls.
The research, published in the BMJ, found that in 2018/19, 22 per cent patients in England referred for cataract surgery were forced to go through tests to establish how poor their vision first. This is a rise from 6 per cent in 2016/17.
And almost 2,900 cases were rejected – a rise from 1,301 refusals two years earlier.
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