NHS Trusts and other healthcare providers are being urged to review their patient appointment systems and ensure all patients with glaucoma are treated appropriately and on time.
The alert released by the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA), comes as new figures reveal that 135 patients with glaucoma experienced cancellations or delays to their follow up appointments; 44 of these resulted in partial loss of eyesight including 13 where patients went completely blind in one or both eyes. In some cases, patient appointments had been delayed by as much as 18 months.
