NHS - how long is reasonable to wait

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brigid downing
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NHS - how long is reasonable to wait

Postby brigid downing » Thu 23 Feb 2006 1:34 pm

Hi

I have been attending my local opticians (very) frequently for several years and have replaced my lenses many time - mostly because they popped out and vanished into a parallel universe but also because of ill fitting lenses, shattered lens and changes in prescription. My optician has been very good but the cost of the lenses has increased dramatically. (over £150 pounds at the moment and set for a further increase). I have been told to try the Manchester hospital, but they are saying it will be 13weeks.

I cannot manage that long without a replacement contact lens so have paid for a replacement (for one which shattered) at my optician. This was my choice but after nearly two weeks of waiting to get as far as being told it would be 13 weeks for an appointment I lost patience. Now I am feeling alittle miffed that others have been paying less and I wasn't even told of this until I found this site.

I don't know what to do now. I have an lens so don't need the appointment but is i loose or damage another one i will not be able to wait another 13weeks.

How Long do other people wait for - not really emergency but quite urgent - NHS appointments.
Brigid

jayboi2005
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Postby jayboi2005 » Thu 23 Feb 2006 1:39 pm

well i have been waiting for ages and there is a lot longer to go. the time it takes is terrible, if i could i would go Private its just far easier.

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Andrew MacLean
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Postby Andrew MacLean » Thu 23 Feb 2006 1:41 pm

Brigid

I have checked my house insurance and find that it is still possible, with some underwriters at least, to insure contact lenses on your house contents policy. This comes in the All Risks section of the policy and ought to cover you against breakages an dlost lenses, but htey may impose an excess.

I think some of the folk who still wear lenses posted in another string about their insurance cover.

13 weeks seems a long time;- takes you to the end of May.

In the meantime, do check out your insurance situation.

Andrew
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Knight
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Postby Knight » Thu 23 Feb 2006 3:09 pm

WOW 13weeks! I could not tolerate waiting that length of time, ever.

Not sure if this is any different/important but The Contact Lens Clinic that I attend (NHS) is a completely separate department and building within the hospital and judging by how long others are waiting in some circumstance feels like a rarity compared to waiting times and even consistency of which doctor you get to see on a regular basis.
For non-emergency visits, lens problems or sight issues etc that I personally deem urgent I can be seen within a week by my consultant or just arrive at the clinic and be fitted in towards the end of that day, sometimes sooner if there's a cancellation. In the times I've broken or lost a lens the most I've ever had to wait was 9 days, but normally I've had a lens replaced within 5 working days.
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Andrew MacLean
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Postby Andrew MacLean » Thu 23 Feb 2006 3:31 pm

The one saving grace in all this is that once you are in the system you can bring forward appointments with great ease.

Andrew
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jayuk
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Postby jayuk » Thu 23 Feb 2006 3:59 pm

Andrew

Maybe where you are, but not in London :-)

Jay
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Andrew MacLean
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Postby Andrew MacLean » Thu 23 Feb 2006 4:04 pm

Ah well, back to the old post-code lottery!
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GarethB
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Postby GarethB » Thu 23 Feb 2006 7:01 pm

My lenses are coverd under my house insurance and as I am still on my first set i have no spare. What the hospital have said, is that if a lens breaks, all I need to is to ask to speak to an optomotrist and explain the situation and more than likely they would just order a replacement and ask for me to send payment and the lens will be sent out to me.

Purely from posts, it would appear that waiting is worse int he North West compared to much else of the country.

I do however recall a news item regarding waiting lists that if you have good cause, you are entitled to be reffered to another area where the waiting list is shorter. Of course this may well require further travelling and i guess this cost is incurred by the patient.

Might be worth finding out more about this.
Gareth

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Sweet
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Postby Sweet » Thu 23 Feb 2006 7:17 pm

Hey there.

You can always order a replacement lens exactly the same as the one you are wearing by phoning them up. This is a good idea as you will have a replacement should the worst happen. You do seem to be paying a lot of money for a lens so i would take that up with them the next time you are seen.

Hospital appointments are long and require a lot of waiting. I used to go private and get my lens from a high street optometrist but the last time i was at Moorfields they weren't happy with the RGP i was using and gave me another one. I was a little annoyed with this as i use a piggy back system and it was Moorfields who gave me the soft lenses. They didn't check with me what RGP i used on top of it and my high street optometrist didn't know about me using it for that reason so gave me one which apparently wasn't supposed to be used for that.

I have an appointment in a few weeks and am going to ask for the brand and prescription of the lens as i will then be able to go to my optometrist and order it through him. This means that should i get any problems i would be able to be seen in a week and not months if i wait for Moorfields. I think that a lot of people here are doing the same thing. Making sure with the consultant in the hospital and then going elsewhere to get lenses and the after care.

Hoping you can work something out soon,

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Lynn White
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Postby Lynn White » Thu 23 Feb 2006 8:39 pm

OKay...

Putting my professional oar in here!

The problem with you all comparing contact lens prices etc is that you may not be comparing like with like.

A pair of tailor made contact lenses of any description will cost around £150 whether you are KC or not. Some people who are not in work can claim their voucher against them (as explained in another post) and IF the power is above 10.00DS you can claim complex voucher against them.

Hospital lenses work on a different system and they often will change lenses as your eye changes without charging you, necessarily. A private optometrist simply cannot afford to replace lenses cheaply and a change in legislation a few years back prevented them from running in house insurance schemes... which I think was a great pity!

Manchester Eye Hospital is a big teaching hospital drawing on a large catchment area so that 13 weeks is not unusual. As others have said, once you are in the system and your notes are there.. its easier to sort things out if you lose or break them.

Part of the whole problem is that nowadays, most people with "normal" eyes use disposable lenses which are geared to mass market distribution with a lot of internet sales. This means that specialist labs are hard hit and are actually falling by the wayside and prices are set to rise not fall.

And the reason for all of this is that since 1948, optometry has not been an integral part of the NHS - it has been a private sector contracting TO the NHS. So it has never worked like a hospital or your GP does. This system works well for the majority of people in the UK but not for people with specialised needs like those with KC!

If your KC is more or less stable, then take Sweet's advice and order spares. Most optometrists would be happy to allow you to pay by installments if you can't afford that much all at once.

Finally - if you are not happy at the way you are treated, write to your MP. Most of the frustrations voiced here are due to the current system and legislation. Optometry is under review in the UK at the moment, so if you ever wanted to have your say... now is the time!

Lynn[/b]


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