NHS or private for Keratoconus contact lenses?

[London123]

Hi everyone,

I was diagnosed with KC back in the summer of 2017. After a period of monitoring the progress of the condition, I decided to go ahead with CXL at the advice of my ophthalmologist. Its been about a year since CXL was carried out on both of my eyes.

The problem that I am now having is that I find that glasses do not do much to improve my vision. I am therefore looking at contact lenses. Can someone who is familiar with the process advise on whether I should go through the NHS (I could get a referral to Moorfields through my GP) or whether I should look at private opticians specialising in Keratoconus? Obviously, the NHS route would save me a significant amount of money but I am worried about the long waiting times (especially with Moorfields) and the lack of individual attention which you usually receive in the private sector. Would the NHS be willing to subsidise the cost of my contacts if I decide to go to a private optician if I can present a HC2 certificate?


Thanks for the help.

[gsward]

Hi, welcome to the forum.

There are pros and cons of course to NHS or private. You can switch to and fro at any stage, either way, assuming you can find the right practitioner. The huge advantage at specialist hospitals is there are a wide range of staff with many different specialisms. So the chances of finding the right person for you should be so much easier. You may see several people during your visit, but I would suggest that's an advantage. Many of us have good experience of Moorfields staff working collaboratively within and across the clinics, too.

There are some good practitioners in the private sector, but you have to find the right one. Do you need a doctor or an optometrist? Moorfields and other hospitals do have their private units too.

If you do get on to contact lenses, and that's a whole topic, there are several different types that are used for KC (RGP, mini scleral, soft, scleral, hybrid ...) with the NHS you only pay once in a year however may r-fits you need (about £57 currently, for each eye).

I think your first step is to find out why your vision is not as good as you might have expected.

Moorfields waiting times don't seem to be as long as you might expect currently but the sooner you get your GP to refer you you eat into that time. You can always change your mind later.

Graham

[Lia Williams]

should go through the NHS (I could get a referral to Moorfields through my GP) or whether I should look at private opticians specialising in Keratoconus?

That is not an easy question to answer as there are many things to take into consideration.

Does your glasses prescription need to be updated? If you could get a glasses prescription to give you good vision then you won't qualify for medically funded contact lenses. You would also be unlikely to qualify for medically funded contact lenses if your vision could be corrected by contact lenses from a standard range.

If you have not been discharged by the hospital where you had your cxl you could ask them about your need for contact lenses and see if they could refer you to their contact lens clinic, or if they don't have a contact lens clinic they could refer you to whoever prescribes contact lenses on their behalf.

If you were to go private for specialist contact lenses the main advantage would be that you would probably be able to be fitted with contact lenses it a shorter timescale. The disadvantage would be cost. The cost is not just the price of the lenses but also the fitting time.

Here is the link to optometrists who have indicated an interest in fitting keratoconus patients

https://www.keratoconus-group.org.uk/in ... ometrists/

In recent years new contact designs have been developed which are designed to reduce fitting time and hopefully overall cost.

if I decide to go to a private optician if I can present a HC2 certificate?

The HC2 certificate is related to the NHS Low Income Scheme. If your vision needs to be corrected by specialist contact lenses then you may qualify for Voucher J which is a voucher for contact lenses issued by an NHS trust or NHS foundation trust. This means that you would pay £57 pounds for each contact lens you would not be charged if the prescription needed charging within the year (unless the lens was designed to be replaced at more frequently in which case the charge would be for six months' supply).

Lia

[London123]

Thank you both for your advice.

Can you give me some indication of how much, on average, the contact lens fitting and the lenses themselves would cost if I were to go private? Are you charged based on how many sessions you need to properly fit the contact lenses?

Thanks.

[gsward]

Private charges vary widely, you should ask for a fee estimate, ongoing costs and how refits are charged up front.

Graham