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Latest Referral Criteria for Cataract in Bedfordshire
Please find below the revised PCT thresholds for cataract surgery in Bedfordshire. Essentially these revisions mean that BCVA must be 6/12 or worse in the worse eye. If this is not the case then please document in detail any symptoms impacting on the patient’s quality of life.
- Referral of patients with cataracts to ophthalmologists should be based on the following indications;
- The patient has sufficient cataract to account for the visual symptoms.
- AND
- The patient has best corrected visual acuity of 6/12 or worse in the worst eye and the reduced visual acuity is impairing their lifestyle:
- the patient is at significant risk of falls
- the patient’s vision is affecting their ability to drive
- the patient’s vision is substantially affecting their ability to work
- the patient’s vision is substantially affecting their ability to undertake leisure activities such as reading, watching television or recognising faces.
- OR
- The patient has best corrected visual acuity of better than 6/12 in the worst eye but they are working in an occupation in which good visual acuity is essential to their ability to continue to work e.g. watchmaker, microsurgeon.
- OR
- The patient has bilateral cataracts, neither of which fulfils the threshold for surgery, but which together reduce binocular vision below the DVLA standard for driving.
- OR
- The patient has best corrected visual acuity of better than 6/12 in the worst eye but they are experiencing some other significant impact on their quality of life, as a result of their visual symptoms. A description of this impact must accompany the referral information.
- AND
- The patient is willing to have cataract surgery:
- or GP has discussed the risks and benefits using an approved information leaflet (national or locally agreed) and ensured the patient understands and is willing to undergoThe referring optometrist surgery before referring.
- Second eye surgery in patients with bilateral cataracts
- Second eye surgery will be funded if the criteria above are met again. This should be assessed not earlier than the post-operative review following surgery on the first eye.
- This policy does not extend to cataract removal incidental to the management of other eye conditions.
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