Risk of mental health crisis as cataract delays mount

Delays to cataract treatments could put half a million patients at risk of severe depression and other mental health issues. This was the warning from to Stephen Hannan, clinical services director at Optical Express, speaking of the dangers of backlogged waiting lists during Mental Health Awareness Week last week (May 10-16).

Hannan explained over 500,000 people currently on NHS waiting lists for cataract surgery across the country were being impacted by the Covid-19 exacerbated backlog. Noting a 2020 study on the links between cataracts and an increased risk for depression, he explained that patients would continue to suffer until the backlogs were reduced.