AMD clinics failing on treatment waiting times

Less than half of people suffering from AMD are receiving treatment within the recommended two-week timeframe, according to a new survey. 

 

Commissioned by the Macular Interest Group of Vision 2020 UK and carried out by the Macular Disease Society, it’s reported that just 49.4% of AMD clinics across the UK see patients for initial treatment within two weeks. Furthermore, 41.8% of patients wait between two to four weeks, with 8.8% waiting more than eight weeks for an appointment. 

 

However, almost half of the ophthalmologist respondents revealed they were running extra clinics in the evening and weekends to cope with demand. Approximately half of those questioned admitted to not feeling that some patients receive optimal care, with nearly 10% labelling the service they provide as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’.  

 

The Royal College of Ophthalmologists recommends that patients are treated for the disease within two weeks of diagnosis, and consequently seen monthly for further treatment if required. Yet, the survey reported that in 80% of clinics, patients wait more than four weeks for a follow-up appointment. 

 

Winfried Amoaku, chair of the Macular Interest Group, said: “This survey suggests that there continues to be a significant lack of resources to deliver adequate contemporary AMD services in the UK.”

 

He added: “The new treatment for wet AMD has been a real breakthrough but we need to ensure that patients get access to it. The NHS needs urgently, to consider how it will meet demand for this treatment. If it doesn’t, patients will lose their sight unnecessarily. It doesn’t make sense to use these treatments less frequently than required, as we know the results will be poor. We can achieve much more for patients with a little more investment in resources.”

 

Doctors responding to the survey suggested ways to improve care, including engaging more ophthalmologists, using staff rather than ophthalmologists to deliver the service, and outsourcing care to outside traditional NHS Trusts. 

 

Chief executive of the Macular Disease Society, Helen Jackson, commented: “We know eye clinics are working very hard to treat patients in a timely way but they must have the resources to do the job. Losing your central vision to AMD is devastating, all the more so if it is lost when there is a treatment which works.”

Tagged with: Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), Optical Body, Research