Re: Patients at risk as eye surgery booms, HealthSupplement, November 6th
Dear Sir,
With regard to your recent article on refractive surgery, 'Patients at risk as eye laser surgery sector booms', I feel it appropriate to add comment.
The issues and concerns regarding the commercialisation of laser eye surgery are important and there is an urgent need for regulation of the industry.
In particular, there are concerns regarding flying in surgeons from the UK and elsewhere if it is not possible to provide continuity of aftercare.
However, there is another side to the argument: until recently laser eye surgery in Ireland has only been available at between €4,000- €5,000.
Competition in the area is, therefore, to be welcomed.
What must always be maintained is provision of the highest standard of clinical care, which can still be provided cost effectively. To provide 24/7 emergency aftercare is a prerequisite for quality care.
Training for refractive surgery in the UK and Ireland has to date been ad hoc with at best small two- to three-day courses available and doctors in the UK at present are still able to perform refractive surgery without any significant training or experience in this speciality.
To address this training "gap", Prof Moore of the Mater Hospital and Prof Shah of Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre (BMEC) have developed a comprehensive refractive training programme delivered through the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland.
Contributors to this course include local Irish surgeons. By making this or similar types of training schemes compulsory might go some way to ensuring standards within the delivery of refractive surgical care.
The best clinical care should, however, be available to all and therefore it is important that complete eye care and follow-up are provided at a reasonable price for consumers.
Prof Johnny Moore, The Leeson Eye Institute, 9 Upper Leeson Street, Dublin 2
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