I am writing in response to your article, “NHS paying private sector to carry out more medical operations” (Report, December 3), as medical director of one of the companies referenced.
At Optegra, we uphold the NHS in many ways, not least allowing patients whose vision is poor due to cataract to access timely treatment.
The private sector’s involvement in shortening NHS waiting lists means more patients get better sooner.
Due to the work of our specialist clinicians, and colleagues in other private ophthalmic settings, NHS waiting times for cataract surgery are now back to pre-pandemic levels.
This means that patients can access sight-restoring treatment free at the point of care, meeting NHS and government targets to eliminate waits of over 18 months by April 2023 and delivering 30 per cent more elective activity by 2024/25 compared to before the pandemic. Other medical specialities, where there is no private sector uphold, are not as fortunate.
The NHS has stated it needs more infrastructure to face demand. Private providers such as Optegra are stepping up to make this necessary capital investment. We recently opened five NHS ophthalmic clinics, with several more planned for 2024.
The advance advantage of this partnership is our training of NHS staff. Only 5 per cent of Optegra clinical staff have joined from the NHS. We also invest heavily, both in training junior doctors who can encounter high-volume cataract lists — which we achieve by being highly efficient while maintaining excellent clinical results — and hosting continuing professional development events for optometrists.
Finally, your article questioned provision of care for any post-op complications. At Optegra, 99.6 per cent of procedures have no complication, and only 0.01 per cent infection rates (compared to the National Ophthalmology Database benchmark of 0.14 per cent). Any such issues are resolved in-house.
Our priority is always our patients, providing excellent care and outcomes while ensuring patient choice around where and when to have treatment.
Amir Hamid
Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon, Medical Director, Optegra Eye Health Care, London W1G, UK
