Bill Harvey: Gunpowder, guillotine

Lots happening or not this week, depending on who you listen to.

Any plans to address the post-pandemic treatment backlog announced by the government this week were, on reading the small print, classic examples of sounding like much was happening while actually little was. Indeed, much of what was announced was a rewording of plans already in place. With cataract waiting times in particular, some areas have managed to keep some control over excessive delays with imaginative clinic management and extension of treatment facilities, others have not. I hope this does not become yet another postcode lottery service.

An important announcement from NICE last week. I quote: ‘People newly diagnosed with glaucoma and ocular hypertension should initially be offered selective laser therapy (SLT) treatment rather than eye drops.’ So was the advice in a new, updated NICE guideline. The effectiveness of a single laser treatment as an alternative to ongoing topical drop use has been highlighted in this publication for some years now, particularly since the publication of the excellent LIGHT study from Professor Gus Gazzard’s team at Moorfields. As NICE has pointed out, ‘the reduced use of eye drops, and cataract or intraocular lowering surgery, would more than cover the costs of introducing SLT more widely, including training staff and purchasing the equipment.’