Cataract Surgery

bouicca21

Jumping in on this - was going to get myself on the waiting list but pandemic intervened.  Optician and GP both closed ...  do I need optician to refer to GP and then GP to refer to hospital or can I just ring GP, tell him I have cataracts that are affecting my everyday life and get a refrain without him seeing me?

Torry_Quine

You can't just tell your GP that you need referred. Opticians can refer directly but you will need to have seen them for an accurate assessment. What did your optician say last time you saw them?

macman

Go to another optician and ask them for a referral.

JGB1955

I'm confused by the 'opticians closed' comment - my optician has been open right from the beginning of lockdown in March.  Admittedly, it was initially only for emergency consultations and glasses repairs,  but fully open for eye tests and provision of glasses/ contact lenses since June.

maman

My optician and GP have been open more or less throughout since March too.

My optician told me that he used to do direct referrals but now has to go through GP.  That maybe just  a change of policy locally. He wrote to the GP (and copied me in) so the referral was done without needing a GP appointment. 

That was September. I was told to call back in January when I tried to make an appointment for assessment (as requested when referral received). I will do, but not hopeful now the the virus is out of control around here .  I'm thinking of exploring the private option. 

pmduk

The referral procedure varies depending on the local CCG. Staff at your GP practice should be able to tell you which hospitals are contracted by the local CCG to undertake this procedure. (They can find out from the Directory of Services (DOS). Some CCGs see cataract surgery as an easy area to reduce spending.

Here in Greater Manchester, the optometrist can refer you directly to a hospital. I had mine done 2 years ago, I was less than 4 weeks (IIRC) from diagnosis to the first surgery. Another patient I spoke to whilst waiting for the procedure had been diagnosed on the Monday and had her surgery on the Friday of the same week so that she could go on holiday, this was at a private clinic paid for by the NHS. I had both of my eyes done there and haven't regretted it for a minute.  

It is scary surgery because most people are squeamish of anything affecting their eyes, but I'm certain that afterwards, you'll wonder what you were so nervous about.