Change in Moorfields Policy on Contact Lens Solutions

[Anne Klepacz]

The official notice about the change states that
'As the hospital does not receive funding to supply contact lens solutions to patients, unfortunately we are no longer able to provide a 3 months' supply of solutions to our patients.
From November 2006 we will only be able to prescribe one month's supply of contact lens solutions at a scheduled Contact Lens Clinic appointment.'
There is no final implementation date yet, but it is likely to happen in the next few weeks. Dan Ehrlich, Head of Optometry at Moorfields and the Head of Pharmacy are hoping that it will be possible to sell contact lens solutions at discount in the pharmacy to reduce the impact of the change in policy but are waiting to hear whether this can happen.
(Sorry to be the bearer of bad news - see the 'what can we get on prescription' thread for other comments on this)
Anne

[Sweet]

Anne, i did start to send you a pm about this when we came back from the photo session but i figured that Dan would get in touch with if he hadn't already done so.

I have never had a hospital before who gave more than one month supply if any! So i think that we were very lucky with what we did have

I did follow on from your post on the prescription thread as i am confused about the whole pricing thing with those on benefits etc but i won't repeat it here as well!

It is a real shame that we are only going to get one month but all hospitals all cutting down on their spending right now so Moorfields is no different. It is the same as my sister and Pat found out in that Windsor hospital no longer gives free lenses to KC patients!!

The whole NHS is having a major shake up but all i ask is can they please send most of the Moorfields patients back to the community to be seen by optoms there so that there is more time and money given to those who require a doctor!! I would quite happily leave and be seen by an optom outside of Moorfields as i was very relunctant to be dragged back into the whole hospital system with a three to six month waiting time just because i wanted to try sclerals and piggy backing Surely this is something that optoms should be trained and able to do outside of a hospital environment? Opthalmologists and surgeons don't fit lenses so we don't need to be taking all the spaces if it is a lens problem.

Sweet X x X

[Lia Williams]

Sweet,

In an ideal world I’d love to see a local optom rather then trekking up to Moorfields. But unfortunately most optoms do not have the experience to fit us. When I first discovered that my eye sight was a “challengeâ€Â

[Sweet]

Hey there Lia!

Yes there are many problems concerning teaching and experience with optoms but this is where i think they should be spending more time and money. It wouldn't happen overnight but there is no reason why teaching shouldn't be concentrated on the community and giving them more money to invest in more lenses.

If more KC patients were going to a high street optom they would have more experience and more lenses needed. Back in Wales i was seen by a consultant who then referred me to a local optom outside the hospital who could fit me with lenses. This made more sense and meant that i never waited more than a week for appointments.

If you can wear glasses then yes a local optom is necessary but most patients in hospitals can't see anything with glasses so don't wear them. I have never seen anything with glasses so rely on lenses only. Also if you are thinking about the back of your eye optoms are trained to look at that as well and will do if they think there is a problem.

Sweet X x X

[jayuk]

Anne

Reading this thread...the first thing that came to my mind was "are we surprised?" It was just in the making to be honest as I can imagine the cost associated to the Hospital for 3 months solutions.it must be quiote high! And where best to cut custs in the current climate within the NHS hospitals? Thats right, the Patients and there needs

J

[John Smith]

Lia,

Rememember that we do hold a register (of sorts) of recommended opticians for KC patients (recommended by our members).

You'll find it on the "members-only" section of the main site.

If you're a full member (i.e. you received the pack of info in the post, or receive our newsletters), then you can just email or pm me for a password.

If you're not a full member, then please contact Anne with your postal details.

[Sweet]

Jay,

No i wasn't in the least bit surprised when i was told. To me working in a hospital it seems pretty reasonable to get one month but not three!!! So we were dam lucky i think though i only benefitted from this once!

Sweet X x X

[Lia Williams]

Sweet and John,

Thank you for your comments.

At the moment I’m quite happy with Moorfields. I did try a local specialist but it was a disaster; my eyes were beyond his resources. I think that as are our eyesight problems are uncommon it is unlikely that an independent optician can have the resources to cope with us. Moorfields have loads of different lenses a try whereas an independent with very few KC patients can not possibly be expected to hold all the various types. We are all in pursuit of that elusive lens which is both comfortable and gives us perfect vision. Minor changes in a lens (same prescription, different manufacturer) have resulted in a ‘perfect’ lens being an absolute nightmare.

Sweet, yes optoms are trained to look at the whole eye but the optoms at the clinic do only check the front of the eye. They did do a full eye test when I first went there but subsequently have not done so. On my last check-up I was reminded that I needed to get a full eye test as they only checked the ‘front of the eye’. I must remember to do this! My back up glasses do improve my vision, but the vision I get is limited. The glasses correct some of the myopia but there are still the multiple images to cope with. I can read a book with them, but anything further away, such as the PC screen is very distorted. One problem is that people see me with a pair of glasses and assume I can see with them!

Fortunately I can wear my lenses for 15+ hours a day. To go without lenses is very hard as I find the distorted images very tiring and it makes me miserable.


It will be a pity not to get solutions on prescription from Moorfields. But look on the bright side - as a month's solutions will cost about the same on prescription as paying for them elsewhere there will no longer be a need to queue at the pharmacy!

Lia

[Sweet]

Lia

Hey there! I do hear what you are saying and this is the whole point. The optom i had in Wales and didn't want to let go of DID have loads of different lenses as he had a lot of KC patients referred to him directly from the hospital.

This could be set up with Moorfields and it surprised me that they don't! When i came to London and first got my lenses with them i was expecting them to give me an optoms details outside the hospital and to only come back yearly for a check up or if i had any problems. I was really surprised to hear them saying come back in six months when i could only get an appointment in eight. Makes no sense to me. If i had a problem a week later it would have been a three month wait to be seen! If i turned up to A and E which i did once in sheer frustration i was told that it was a contact lens problem, which yes it was and i knew that, but i couldn't get in to see them In the end i went back to Wales and my old optom sorted it.

Sweet X x X

[GarethB]

I think the problem with Moorfields is that they have many people KC and otherwise from a far wider area than just London.

Most other eye units seem to me to have patients refered from a much smaller area.

It is for this reason I feel Moorfields ahs larger waiting lists for referals and follow up treatment.