Cataract surgery: ‘Outrageous’ cuts to reimbursements kick in

The Irish Health Service Executive (HSE) is set to cut the amount it pays to reimburse people who travel to Northern Ireland from the Republic for cataract surgery.

Cataracts occur when the lens of the eye becomes cloudy – and usually affects adults as a result of aging.

The surgery, which has a high success rate, involves replacing the cloudy lens with a clear, artificial one.

The reimbursement for standard eye treatments will be reduced from nearly €2,000 (£1,681) to €1,150 (£966), with the change to come into effect from Saturday.

Cork South West TD (MP) Michael Collins has described the decision as “nothing short of outrageous”.

Patients from the Republic of Ireland can travel to avail of cataract treatments in private hospitals under the Northern Ireland Planned Healthcare Scheme.

Patients from the Republic of Ireland can travel to avail of cataract treatments in private hospitals under the Northern Ireland Planned Healthcare Scheme.

This allows them to access certain private healthcare treatments in Northern Ireland and apply for reimbursement from the Irish government.

Mr Collins set up a bus service bringing cataract patients to Belfast, along with Kerry TDs Michael Healy-Rae and Danny Healy-Rae.

The 07:00 BST “Cataract Express” bus in Cork city was packed on Friday morning, with patients going to Northern Ireland before the cuts kick in.

Mr Collins said the whole package costs patients about €3,000 (£2,522) taking travel, accommodation and the procedure into consideration.

“The bus has been a godsend for them but now some of these pensioners will not be able to afford to get the treatment,” he told Irish broadcaster RTÉ.

“It’s no exaggeration to say that these people will go blind as a result.”

According to doctors, in most cases cataract surgery is a simple but life changing procedure which takes around 20 minutes. But many wait years to be seen, often leading to unnecessary suffering and blindness.

The HSE said some prices for cataract procedures have increased and some have decreased.

In a statement, it said there has been a delay in updating the pricing due to Covid-19 and the re-classification of certain cataract procedures.

The payments for less complex eye treatments are due to fall from €1,912 (£1,607) to €1,150 (£966) or the National Health Service equivalent of £766 in Northern Ireland.

The most common cataract procedure payments will be reduced from €1,456 (£1,224) to €1,171 (£984).

The HSE said that the vast majority of procedures, which is 94%, fall into this new payment price.

It said that the more complex glaucoma/cataract treatment payments will rise from €1,912 (£1,607) to €4,206 (£3,535).

The HSE said it deferred reimbursement changes until 1 September to ensure no one is disadvantaged and to communicate the amended prices fully to patients and providers.

The HSE also said the price of procedures in the Republic are based on information from acute hospitals. This year, it said, all procedures have been reclassified and its prices had not been updated due to the Covid pandemic.

There are also been calls to address the wider issue of why cataract patients have to travel to Northern Ireland in the first place.

Killarney-based GP Dr Gary Stack said that the service for cataracts in the Cork and Kerry area is “almost non-existent”.

“I would say I’ve 30 times as many patients who travel to Northern Ireland for every one patient I would see get treated publicly in Cork.

“The waiting lists stretch for years and there are serious concerns about eye care and people slowly losing their sight.”

He said that thousands of people suffer “needlessly” and it would be better if there were “no reimbursements and we could just get rid of waiting lists”.

“In truth, it’s an indictment of the health service that we cannot provide this life changing service for people here at home,” he added.