NHS urged to act more quickly to stop elderly patients going blind
This article was taken from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/01/23/nhs-urged-act-quickly-stop-elderly-patients-going-blind/
By:
Thousands of elderly patients are being left at risk of blindness because the NHS is too slow to prescribe drugs which could save their sight, experts have warned.
New guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) today say patients suffering from age-related macular degeneration (AMD) need quicker diagnosis and treatment, to avoid vision loss.
More than 600,000 people in the UK are affected by the condition, which comes in two forms, one of which can cause irreversible blindness within weeks.
The new advice from Nice says those suffering from the most damaging form of AMD should start treatment within a fortnight of diagnosis.
The authors of the new guidelines said thousands of patients – mainly elderly – were currently being denied this, leaving too many to suffer “terrifying” consequences.
Professor Mark Baker, director of the centre for Guidelines at Nice, said: “AMD can be a life changing condition for people if it is not identified early on.
“There are around 26,000 new cases of wet AMD in the UK each year and if left untreated over half will become visually impaired or blind within three years. Therefore the need to provide timely diagnosis and treatment is important.”
Cathy Yelf, chief executive of the Macular Society, and a member of the Nice committee which drew up the guidelines, said: “The consequences of delays to diagnosis and treatment are terrifying; it means losing more sight and can mean losing central vision irreversably.”
“Prompt diagnosis is absolutely critical,” she said, warning that staff shortages and poor organisation of services meant patients in many parts of the country were forced to wait too long.
It follows concern that patients are losing out because of red tape stopping the NHS from using the cheapest form of treatment available.
Why is the NHS under so much pressure?
- An ageing population. There are one million more people over the age of 65 than five years ago. This has caused a surge in demand for medical care
- Cuts to budgets for social care. While the NHS budget has been protected, social services for home helps and other care have fallen by 11 per cent in five years. This has caused record levels of “bedblocking”; people with no medical need to be in hospital are stuck there because they can’t be supported at home
- Staff shortages. While hospital doctor and nurse numbers have risen over the last decade, they have not kept pace with the rise in demand. Meanwhile 2016 saw record numbers of GP practices close, displacing patients on to A&E departments as they seek medical advice
- Lifestyle factors. Drinking too much alcohol, smoking, a poor diet with not enough fruit and vegetables and not doing enough exercise are all major reasons for becoming unwell and needing to rely on our health services. Growing numbers of overweight children show this problem is currently set to continue
Research suggests that a £12 drug called Avastin is just as effective as injections which cost up to £800 for treatment of wet AMD.
But the treatment – originally developed to treat cancer – does not have a licence for wet AMD, meaning doctors who prescribe it do so at their own risk.
The new Nice guideline says there are no clinically significant differences between the treatments.
And the General Medical Council gave their backing to doctors who prescribe the drug off-licence, following recommendations from the Royal College of Ophthalmologists.
Two drug companies Bayer and Novartis, which market the only treatments licensed for wet AMD, have threatened legal action against 12 NHS authorities which drew up plans to offer Avastin for eye conditions.
Helen Lee, from the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), urged NHS bodies to act quickly on the Nice recommendations.
She said: “The guidance makes it clear that patients need to be urgently referred for treatment if they have suspected late wet AMD.
“If late wet AMD is confirmed patients should be offered treatment as soon as possible, within 14 days of referral to the macula service.”
She said shortages of staff and lack of space in clinics meant too many patients were being forced to wait longer.
One response to “NHS urged to act more quickly to stop elderly patients going blind”
-
I suffered an eye stroke 4 weeks ago and had eye hallucinations, bright squiggly yellow lines across all of my right eye, then suffered loss of about 1/3rd of my vision. Phoned 111 and advised to go to Urgent Care and ask for Ophthalmologist at 12:00pm at night. Knowing it would be crowded and there would be drunks etc I decided to wait, not least because I probably wouldn’t be seen for hours. Sight didn’t get worse at that stage so I phoned GP who also advised A&E Urgent Care. Phoned 111 again and they got me an appointment that day at William Harvey Urgent Care. Was assessed by a lady in her 30s or 40s who didnt seem to grasp how serious my condition was and treated me like I was an inconvenience, she did some physical stroke tests, which I passed, didn’t even look at my eye and dismissed me with a list of Opticians. The next day I contacted Cargills in Folkestone whose Optician has a really good reputation. He saw me straight away and shone lights in my eyes, then did a scan. He found that I had suffered a hemhorrage to the back of my eye the main artery, said I must go to GP and get him to contact Ophthalmology, meanwhile if symptoms got worse to go straight to Urgent Care and ask to see Ophthalmologist urgently. Went to GP they said they had received Opticians report and scans and contacted William Harvey Ophthalmology. Received a letter in post 2 days later with an appointment in three weeks time. Meanwhile I was in danger of the sight getting even worse and/or a brain stroke or even a stroke in other eye. I managed to find extra help with Kent Association for Blind and wrote an email (weekend). Someone contacted me the next day and said they would try and get me seen sooner. I was seen 3 days later by Dr Jaffrey, Canterbury Ophthalmology Department. Had the scans again etc then the consultation. He told me nothing about why I had suffered the stroke. Dismissed my concerns that I wasn’t being sent for an MRI scan of my head to see if I had suffered an Ischaemic stroke, which can trigger blindness. Was offered an injection in the eye. I told him that I was scared and initially declined but later in the conversation common sense kicked in and I said I would agree to the injection, to which he replied that it could wait 3 weeks until my next appointment and that if he really thought I needed an injection he would have told me. He decided to wait. I am at a loss as to why there is all this delaying of a condition where if I don’t get urgent treatment I could completely lose the sight in that eye. It is now over a week since I saw Ophthalologist at Wm Harvey, my eyesight has now got much worse, I can hardly see with my right eye. I have got in touch with KAB but it is getting on for New Year and everything stops for Xmas holidays or there is skeleton staff at hospitals. I can’t do anything now. Date 29.12.24
Leave a Reply