Posted on 03/03/2025 11:48:47 AM PST by nickcarraway
Private cataract removal work is so lucrative that consultants are cashing in and have less time for hospital appointments
NHS doctors have been accused of leaving eye patients at risk of blindness by cashing in on private cataract removal surgery.
Dr Ben Burton, president of the Royal College of Ophthalmology, said the system is on the brink of collapse, while surgeon-turned-Labour MP Dr Peter Prinsley said parts of the country could become “ophthalmic deserts” because of a lack of coverage.
The crisis has been triggered, in part, by a rise in fees paid to independent providers by the NHS for cataract removal, according to Dr Prinsley, of Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket.
The speed of basic cataract procedures meant consultants could carry out several in a day, which had proven lucrative, he said.
Increasing numbers of consultants have been taking on more private work, including setting up clinics near hospitals which can take on work for the NHS.
This meant fewer NHS appointments were available for patients with more complex conditions, such as glaucoma or macular degeneration.
Dr Burton said the problem was reaching a crisis point: “We’re heading off a cliff, it’s not sustainable and it’s not safe.”
The NHS said it was assessing the impact of the “rapid growth of the independent sector” and wanted to “ensure the sustainability of services for all eye care conditions”.
The number of cataract procedures being carried out has risen sharply. Figures from NHS England show that 676,000 took place in 2023-2024 compared with 451,000 in 2019-2020 – a rise of nearly 50 per cent.
Meanwhile, only 393,600 patients (66 per cent) of patients began ophthalmology treatment within 18 weeks.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
What will it take for America to get that unconstitutional gov’t healthcare is not only illegal but dangerous and way subpar - like putting the DMV in charge of your healthcare?
Everything government, any government, touches turns to intestinal waste product.
All socialist programs are perpetually “on the brink of collapse.”
So.... doctors are goobermint slaves?
This is a PERFECT EXAMPLE of the end game of Socialism (and mass immigration, for that matter). I remember when doctors went to North Korea and did eye procedures on previously blind people. So, does the UK now need Russian or Chinese doctors to volunteer in their country so that elderly people can get their vision back? Is it really worth that price because their leadership doesn’t like Putin saying that gays need to stay in the closet, or won’t crash his economy over ‘Climate Change’, as Europe is in the process of doing?
Apparently so.
They took the first few steps, but it's still moving towards that.
After the way our healthcare system from Washington DC to your average primary care doctor in the USA handled Covid, should convince a lot of people that government run healthcare is a death sentence.
Remember how Ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine were treated as dangerous or horse paste instead of two cheap existing drugs that could have save a lot of lives.
Now imagine how Covid was handled multiplied by the entire healthcare system covering every disease and treatment.
in the United States the AMA is the doctors union that keep the number of available medical personnel artificially low to keep the profits up. the medical schools work with them to basically keep the numbers at replacement rates.
Some jerk did my cataract surgery wrong, wrecked my cornea.
Had that cornea replaced about 25 years ago by, coincidentally, top rated MD in the US. But replaced corneas do not last forever, so I’m now essentially blind in that eye, see nothing but blurry images. Fortunately found a capable guy who will replace it in a couple of months. A really good cornea is hard to find and he buys his from the same eye bank my first ophthalmologist used, reputedly the best in the US.
I had to get different insurance this year, as United, which I had last year, would not cover it. Total cost for MD and cornea will be over $26,000. I couldn’t possibly afford it without insurance. Is that socialized medicine?
bump to the top
100% yes.
US Government controls over half the payments within the medical system. They set base rates for medicaid, and have a created a hairball of regulations regarding 3rd party payments, coverages, reimbursements, etc...Now under Obamacare, they mandate that you MUST buy insurance, from one of their approved crony insurance companies.
Anyone who is duped by Democrats into thinking US Health Care is a "capitalist" system is a fool.
As long as the gov't says way from protecting the union, so what? If the gov't is protecting the union, then that's piling more unconstitutional gov't on top of unconstitutional gov't. Illegality on top of illegality. For what? Better healthcare? HA!
Gov't doesn't care a whit about your health, only increase of income for the bureaucracy. In fact there's a great part of gov't that thinks it's better if you just die.
The voluntary cooperation DIRECTLY between doctors and patients is by far the best quality and value in healthcare in the world. Otherwise, hello DMV [death]care.
“Free Medical” isn’t free!
Socialists and USA Democrats
haven’t figured that out yet!
Privatize it all. Get government out of
direct intervention.
I’m a Vet, I get all my medical from private
health providers.
I pay for my wife’s health insurance
we go to the same health facilities,
hers cost a bit more, but the same
EXACT levels of care.
I earned my VA coverage and we earned
and pay for our MEDICARE coverage’s.
(I can use VA or Medicare as I see fit).
My point is this; we payed for and have earned it.
People who have not earned it vote and expect
the government to take from us and give those
voters something for nothing!
I’m a charitable guy but I don’t like being ripped off by
a bunch of lazy assed POS!
we need to become democrats for eternal life, at least for voting.
Wow, a below par, socialist doctor chasing $100 vs. $10. Who would have thunk that?
I don’t have Medicaid, I have Medicare Advantage and Humana Insurance. My medicare advisor discovered that Humana would pay a huge amount toward corneal surgery.
When inputting “effects of Vitamin C on cataracts”, a large amount of information and abstracts came up.
Here is one: https://bmcophthalmol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12886-017-0515-2
There are many.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.