article_snippet.sent: Many NHS trusts have imposed arbitrary rules to determine who is eligible for cataract treatment, and patients who cannot read, sew or watch television are routinely turned away.
article_snippet.sent: Those patients who do meet the strict criteria often have to wait eight months for treatment, over which time Those patients who do meet the strict criteria eyesight deteriorates further and impairs basic tasks and hobbies.
article_snippet.sent: Clara Eaglen, from the Royal National Institute of Blind People, said: ‘
article_snippet.sent: We strongly believe that everyone who has a sight-threatening condition deserves early access to treatments.
article_snippet.sent: Caroline Abrahams, of Age UK, said: ‘In the last few years it has become harder to access cataract surgery as people are forced to wait for people sight to significantly deteriorate before getting help.
article_snippet.sent: It is extremely worrying if people whose sight is starting to fail feel the only way to get help quickly is to pay for whose sight.
article_snippet.sent: Cataracts are extremely debilitating and treatment should be based on a clinical need not age or bank balance.
article_snippet.sent: More than half of over-65s suffer from cataracts, which are cloudy patches in the lens that make vision blurred or misty.
article_snippet.sent: Sight can be restored in a simple 45-minute operation, with doctors using ultrasound waves to break up the cataract.