13.08.12
Open your eyes
Some trusts are rationing cataract surgery based on just one measure of assessment, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists has reported.
Tough financial pressures could be to blame for cases where surgery is denied, but the RCO believes this is actually economically counter-productive, as well as being clinically unacceptable.
Taking additional factors into account would more clearly represent the need for surgery, and the initial expenditure would be countered by savings in work and social care, as well as avoiding health problems that escalate from withheld treatment.
It may seem like an easy win to impose more stringent criteria on cataract surgery, but a glance at the bigger picture is enough to see this is not the case.
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