Private cataract clinics under investigation

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced it is investigating private clinics delivering NHS cataract surgery after The Sunday Times exposed concerns about their financial practices, poor post-surgery care and patient safety (April 20, 2025). 

The NHS Counter Fraud Authority was reportedly examining the private cataract market, after a leaked DHSC briefing for ministers detailed concerns about the impact SpaMedica, Chec, Newmedica, Optegra and Aces were having on NHS services. 

Concerns included money and doctors being drained from the health service, artificially inflated costs for the taxpayer, unnecessary operations, poorer-quality lenses, post-surgery complications, and incentives for optometrists to refer patients to private clinics.