Old age - poverty - and cataracts

[pscocoa]

I have developed a cataract and it needs surgery - do I go private or NHS?

Anybody had cataracts sorted and what was experience on having it dealt with?

As far as I can see (ha ha) if you go private you get a consultant to do the job - if you go NHS you might get a trainee doing the job with same consultant stood next to trainee.

I will probably go for NHS and kick up a fuss about having consultant only.

Lesson - wear sun glasses more regularly

[Auto Addict]

My mother had her's done when she was 98, NHS job, doesn't need glasses now and coming upto 104.

[Olympia5776]

My mother had her's done when she was 98, NHS job, doesn't need glasses now and coming upto 104.

Just in from a miserable day ,sat down and read that and it cheered me up no end.
She must be a remarkable lady .

[D]

I have developed a cataract and it needs surgery - do I go private or NHS?

Anybody had cataracts sorted and what was experience on having it dealt with?

As far as I can see (ha ha) if you go private you get a consultant to do the job - if you go NHS you might get a trainee doing the job with same consultant stood next to trainee.

I will probably go for NHS and kick up a fuss about having consultant only.

Lesson - wear sun glasses more regularly

If you go private you could get a rubbish consultant doing it or you could go NHS and have a superb trainee doing it. Dont always assume that a consultant is better when it comes to surgery. Plus a catract surgery is probably the simplest of the lot. The trainees are also quite experienced by the time they get to that stage.

When my wife needed an epidural I made sure a registrar did it rather than a consultant. Reason being its such a simple procedure that trainees do hundreds of them, consultants do the odd one when someone kicks up a fuss and usually struggle.

Now if it was a cardiac bypass then its different!

[Taxi_Driver]

I know my local private hospital does cataracts in bulk, ie books in between 30-50 patients for the  day and the same consultant does the lot in production line style

Dont think id like to be no 50 on the list   

[Rods2]

or the first, on the day after his birthday.