Posted 12 hours ago

How long are cataract operation (eye) waiting times in England roughly?

We may get free prescriptions/and free hospital parking in Wales but Ive been told by my optician that the waiting times for cataract surgery in Wales are multi years compared to multi months in England. This may have changed but it was 2-2.5 years in South Wales last time I checked.

Thats probably going to vary where you live in England but....

Can anyone confirm how long waiting times for cataracts are in England roughly?

Genuine question.
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  1. tardytortoise's avatar
    you need to surf across the nhs website and check out individual hospitals
    here is just one example
    myplannedcare.nhs.uk/swe…ogy
  2. keeganland's avatar
    After waiting years for them to say her sight was bad enough, we got an appointment for pre-op last May for her first eye. It took about 6 weeks for the actual operation to come through, and was told it would be about 6 months for her other eye.

    Six months came and went, and we heard nothing. Whenever we called, they couldn't give an update. I checked the NHS, which said it should be a 12 week gap between each eye being done, so in late Jan, I made a complaint to PALS. They came back to us with a one sentence response which said that it was down to waiting times.

    Then, about 2 weeks ago, she got an appointment letter for pre-op on her second eye, due next week, which going by the first eye, should mean, hopefully, she'll have the second eye done by the end of May.

    TLDR; From first appointment to completed first surgery, about 2 months. From first appointment to completed surgery on both, about 13 months. From first requesting to completed surgery, about 3 years.
  3. Van1973's avatar
    My mother has just had both eyes done in the North East. Assessment appointment was late December, first eye done end of Feb and second eye end of March. I'm normally a critic of the NHS but this service was excellent.
    mutley1's avatar
    I have noticed that NHS up north is a lot faster than down south! They seem to have more resources up there or there are less demand I guess.
  4. pekoz1's avatar
    Author
    Sounds like my optician was right then. He did say that the local Welsh media is aware of the major differences that exist but doesnt seem interested / or are afraid to draw attention to it.

    Private cost is just over £3000 per eye around here. For info we were told that the waiting list in the Cardiff area at the end of 2022 was around 2.5 years for the first eye.

    Thanks everyone for the info (edited)
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