Verum writes: Olympic effort needed to solve cataract crisis that will only get worse in future

If only Great Britain was as proficient with cataract operations as it is in winning Olympic medals. What a fantastic two weeks resulting in GB coming a magnificent second in the Rio 2016 medals table. Yet I am disappointed to read that for cataract operations we are now ranked 22nd out of 30 countries for the number of procedures carried out. GB records only 731 cataract operations per 100,000 population, behind the likes of Hungary, Portugal and Slovenia.

These figures are produced by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which uses information from its 35 member states to, ‘help governments foster prosperity and fight poverty through economic growth and financial stability, helping to ensure the environmental implications of economic and social development are taken into account’. I wonder if the government will actually have taken any note of the OECD findings and are by any chance considering the implications for the health and well-being of the elderly population of Great Britain, not forgetting, of course, Northern Ireland, (not included in the OECD figures).