RNIB funds legal action

In an unprecedented move, the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is funding legal action against a PCT for what it claims is an illegal blanket ban on funding drugs to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

The charity is funding a legal battle against Oxfordshire PCT by Dennis Devier, an 84-year-old Henley war veteran. Devier suffers from wet AMD and is already blind in one eye, has diabetes and Paget's disease and cares for his disabled wife.

An RNIB spokesman told Optician: 'This is the first time we have taken such action against a PCT. Mr Devier has been told by the PCT that for him to be eligible for sight-saving treatment he must be an exceptional case. We believe the PCT has no grounds on which to refuse to pay for the treatment. They have already turned down three appeals.