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Where is best?

Posted , 4 users are following.

steve48890
steve48890

I am very lucky in that I have the option to go to either Albyn Private Hospital  in Aberdeen ( thanks to my wiffes company healthcare) or Royal Jubilee ( as a referred NHS patient).

Albyn is closer but I dont know if I would be better going to Glasgow as it has a good reputation ( from what I have heard) 

Im relatively young ( 53) for the op and have a lot of working years still to come unfortunately so I'm trying to decide which one I think would give me the best care.

Does anyone have an opinion on these two hospitals that will help me decide?

1 like, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • Bumblebea
    Bumblebea steve48890

    Posted

    Steve

    Go where you can choose your surgeon, look him/her up on the internet, and make sure they actually 'specialise' in cataracts. I was persuaded to go NHS, by the consultant, and that was in June. My sight is improved, although I didnt know there was anything wrong in the first place, because the cataract was so minor. However, my eye has been so bad since the operation, it is painful, acheing, swollen and very uncomfortable all of the time, and now so sensitive to the cold, that I now cannot go out. I cannot even go to the freezer, because the cold air hurts my eye so badly. When I looked up my surgeon on the internet, I found that he specialised in Macular degeneration, . They will tell you that all eye specialist can do cataract surgery, and I am sure they are right, but some are obviously better than others, and after my experience, I am certain that is the case. I have been to see a specialist privately, to try to sort it,and this I have self funded. It is still not any better, and I feel they may be covering up what may have happened during my surgery. I am now considering going up to Moorfields in London which is the top eye hospital in the country. I will have to fund all of this myself, and it will probably cost me thousands. But I need my eye back to normal, and need to find out what happened during my surgery to cause my eye to deteriorate so badly. So, Steve, check that you have a surgeon who is top of the list, and is an actual Cataract specialst. Good luck, and I hope others who read this, will take heed.

  • derek76
    derek76 steve48890

    Posted

    No but it is a simple ten minute procedure that any competent specialist will do well.

    The advantage of the private option is that if you are going to need reading glasses the NHS will not fit a multifocal lens.

    • Bumblebea
      Bumblebea derek76

      Posted

      As I have found out to my cost, some are more competant than others. Eye specialist do usually have a subject of which their expertise and knowledge is above the usual. Those who are in the 'Cataract' bracket of that, are the best to search out for a cataract operation, to avoid getting a 2nd rate job as has happened to me. The operation takes about 20 minutes, and your sight it far too precious to not be diligent about who is going to operate on it. I wish I had never had mine done. A friend of mine did have multifocal lens on the NHS, she just had to pay the extra. It is, of course possible that different hospitals have different criteria.
    • derek76
      derek76 Bumblebea

      Posted

      I was not offered the multifocals as an option.

      There must be a reason for your problem other than incompetence. Were you on any long term medications prior to the operation? I was on Tamsulosin for a while prior to my operation and it can cause problems for the one doing it. The one doing my second eye commented, Why do they give me all the difficult cases?

      If you think he was incompetent why not take legal advice. A record is kept of each procedure and the other staff present know the procedure and would notice any bad practice.   

    • Bumblebea
      Bumblebea derek76

      Posted

      Thanks Derek for you interest. It is very much appreciated. I agree, that there must be something else wrong, but as yet the NHS, and the private consultant (who also works in the eye unit for the nhs) have said that everything looks fine, and I just have a dry eye, which I definately did not have before the surgery. I have been given HYLO for it . That is why I am starting to wonder if they are protecting each other. Regarding any other medical conditions. I have never been ill in my life. I never go to the doctors, and have always looked after myself. I take no medication except vitamins, and see a Chiropractor every 6 weeks who 'keeps me balanced' I am 69 years old, and have always felt very blessed with such good health.

      Legal action has crossed my mind, but to be honest, getting my eye back to normal is all I can think of at the moment. As I dont know what has gone wrong, I feel that would need to be known before I went down that path. Is that something of which you may have some knowledge?

      I should say, that my husband also had a cataract operation, in a different hospital, just 6 days before me. By the time mine was due, he was recovered and able to drive me to the hospital, and has had no problems at all. So I am very aware of the difference between the two of us. .

  • mayday35
    mayday35 steve48890

    Posted

    steve unless we know the Op you are going to have, how can we answer your question? Also, if we don't live in Scotland, we could not answer that either. I don't think this is the right place to ask such a question and your best bet is to ask around your friends as it all depends on what operation you are planning. Perhaps there is a poster on here who lives in Aberdeen or Glasgow?
  • mayday35
    mayday35 steve48890

    Posted

    Sorry Steve I now have scrolled down and read other replies.
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