Eye specialist praises health chiefs for treatment work (From The Northern Echo)

Eye specialist praises health chiefs for treatment work

8:23am Thursday 28th August 2008

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A LEADING eye specialist has praised health bosses for investment that means North- East patients have been the first in the country to get sight-saving treatment.

This week, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) recommended that all primary care trusts should fully fund sightsaving treatment with a drug called Lucentis.

Before the decision, most NHS hospitals could only treat the eye that had the better vision.

The new guidance means the NHS has to pay for treatment to both eyes in cases where patients have a sightthreatening condition called wet age-related macular degeneration.

But thanks to a decision by North-East primary care trusts (PCTs) in April to fully fund treatment for both eyes, the region’s hospitals have been treating large numbers of patients for months.

To meet the demand, hospitals have been hiring extra staff, and the number of centres offering treatment with Lucentis has been increased.

Until April the only place in the region to offer the treatment was the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI), in Newcastle.

Now, doctors are giving patients courses of injections with Lucentis at Darlington Memorial Hospital, The James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, and Sunderland Royal Hospital.

James Talks, a consultant ophthalmologist at the RVI, said: “The PCTs in the North- East have been very wise, which has allowed us to plan ahead for the increased demand.

We are geared up to do this, but some other areas are going to struggle to provide this treatment.”

Extra investment from North-East PCTs had allowed the eye unit at the RVI to take on two consultants, three specialist doctors, a nurse, a specialist photographer and an optician.

The RVI has also bought a sophisticated camera used to diagnose and treat patients.

Mr Talks said: “We are seeing about 50 new patients a month and by February next year, we think we will be treating about 800 patients every month.”

He said Lucentis was a big step forward and in most cases stopped further sight loss.

Lucentis costs up to £21,000 per patient and involves regular injections into the eye.

The North-East NHS expects to invest an extra £2.5m in the treatment of eye patients with Lucentis during this current financial year.

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