Cataract Referrals In North East London
22 January 2026
This message is sent on behalf of Mr Ayman Khaier – Consultant Ophthalmologist at BHRUT
Dear Colleagues,
We have noticed a decline in the number of patients presenting for cataract surgery in the NHS, and I wanted to write to you to highlight the situation with cataract patients in Northeast London.
Whilst patterns of referrals can and do vary from time to time, this trend has persisted for more than six months until October, and is affecting all providers in NEL, and seems to be in all boroughs. At the same time, it seems that more cataract surgery is performed in the independent sector.
The impact of that is threefold:
- most cataract surgery performed in the NHS now is complex. These patients need additional preparation, and their waiting time is longer.
- cataract surgery is the main source of revenue for NHS providers (due to volume and the model of NHS funding). This means that NHS units might become deprived of an important income and therefore be less able to improve and compete.
- there is less opportunity for training junior doctors for the future.
All NHS providers in NEL are actively working to improve their cataract pathways, reduce waiting times, and improve patient experience. I am sure this will bear fruit in the coming few months.
There are multiple factors that affect patient choice for a provider, and it seems the holistic quality of care ranks high. It also seems that patients are willing to wait a reasonable period for their surgery. I have to say that I think our NHS ophthalmology services in NEL are good overall despite considerable constraints, and some circumstantial variances.
So, the purpose of my message is to urge you to promote your NHS ophthalmology departments when having a cataract (or other) discussions with your patients.
Finally, please feel free to contact me with your queries, comments and observations.
Ayman Khaier
Consultant in paediatric and Neuro-ophthalmology
Chair of the Ophthalmology network in Northeast London.
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