Local NHS management boards are restricting cataract surgery in an effort to save money, the RNIB has found. This story has been on the news quite a bit over the last few days and cataract surgery isn't the only operation affected. Many non urgent operations like hip replacements are being delayed by imposing tighter restrictions on who may have surgery. These restrictions are locally set up and are not the same across the country meaning surgery in Birmingham may be allowed whilst the same patient may be denied or put off in Brighton. In any case, delays to treatment now only increase waiting lists in the future as cataracts only get worse with time. High profile money saving that affects people's functional vision does tend grab the headlines so hopefully the government will step in an sort things out. In fact Health Minister Simon Burns is quoted as saying “If local health bodies stop patients from having cataract surgery on the basis of cost alone, we will take action against them.” We shall see. NHS Lothian guarantee a maximum waiting time of 18 weeks from referral, but currently have waiting time of about 10 weeks. If you are insured or able to pay privately there is virtually no waiting time. Private cataract surgery in Edinburgh with one of the top local consultants currently costs £2,200 per eye. Certain consultants have certain expertise in different forms of cataract surgery so if you need advice on who you should select, make sure you contact us first.
Because we've been specialising in contact lenses for longer than just about everyone else we're quite often invited to try out new lenses on our loyal and experienced patients. Ian recently went down to a meeting in Birmingham where a leading company announced a brand new type of daily disposable lens. It's all very hush hush at the moment but it has some exciting features that should make it a very exciting prospect. Very soon we'll be looking to recruit some patients who are existing daily disposable wearers who are struggling with blurry discomfort type symptoms. If you're interested, get in touch so we can put you in the running for a trial.
Timeless design, Innovative use of colour and quality of materials. It was these features that initially enticed us towards Bevel, but It wasn’t until we had them in our hands in Milan, or in fact, until Heather had them on her face that we realised we had to have them in the practice. Founded in New York in 1999, Bevel was started to fill a niche in the eyewear industry with a modern, minimalist design style and outstanding workmanship. The look is understated and timeless, free of distracting logos and ornamentation and yet right on-trend. Pick up a pair of Bevel glasses and immediately feel their quality. Put them on and appreciate the precise fit, making them incredibly comfortable and flattering. All frames are manufactured in Titanium (incredibly strong, very light and hypo allergenic) or Japanese acetate plastic (the highest quality acetate available) or a combination and come in a huge range of understated but interesting colours. Bevel frames stand out without looking wacky. We are stocking a large range of ladies and a smaller number of gents frames, so come in and take a look or check out bevelspecs.com
One of our loyal patients today brought in this little bit of history at her annual check up: her first ever lens case, holder and ‘sucker' we gave her back in 1976. It also still had the original lenses in there… We use to give out these little packs with RGP lenses back then (when RGPs were actually ‘hard' and no one had thought of making them soft) and I don't really know why we stopped. They are really quite handy for storing lenses provided you replace the sucker and the actual plastic case regularly to keep things clean. This lady assured me that the lenses, the case and the sucker were all original 1970s. We have a lot of patients who have been with us since the 1970s and still a few who have been going even longer since 1960s and still have many lens wearing years ahead. We always enjoy seeing any eye related memorabilia so bring it with you to your next appointment. PS. This patient now wears soft lenses
Another jam packed and very productive day at MIDO. Exciting new frames coming to Edinburgh soon Today was more about refining what we saw yesterday and going back to see things again to really be sure. We've found some beautiful styles that are unique (but not weird).We're really excited to be bringing some UK firsts to Edinburgh too. It'll take us a while to process everything and get things into the practice but we'll go as quick as we can and keep you updated here. No pictures of frames today but this one is from the ‘Far East Pavilion' and shows how hard it is to translate things well.
Day 1 at MIDO is over. The scale of this place is incredible. The picture below is only 1 of the 5 pavilions filled with the latest frames from around the world We're finding the Scandinavians have more style than any other countries – no surprise there (think about the cool glasses on Borgen and The Killing). There are some really high quality and interesting designs many of which, we will be first in the UK to bring in for you. Worst frame of the day prize belongs to a brand called Parasite…need I say more? Maybe try to get a picture of it tomorrow.
Ian has hit the big time with cover picture and interview for Optician magazine! This is the industry magazine with a small but dedicated readership of optometrists and optical workers. Ian was interviewed as an expert in staff training and was giving advice to other business owners about how to organise training for maximum benefit. The specifics are probably of little interest to the general public, but here's the cover shot.
Sort of… Eighteen months ago over a quarter of a million people applied to be volunteers at the London 2012 Olympics. The numbers were whittled down over a course of interviews and in December Gillian was delighted to accept a post as optometrist for the games. Her duties will involve working as part of a team of health professionals in the polyclinic at the heart Olympic village. She will provide acute eye and contact lens care to the athletes, their teams and spectators and general eye exams to those from developing countries who may not have access to health care at home. Her love of all things sporty, her expertise in contact lenses, and in volunteer optometry abroad make her the ideal choice. She's hoping they might even give her a bit of time off to watch an event or two. She'll keep us updated here as things develop.
This weekend Ian, Heather and Gillian are jetting off to the annual MIDO glasses frames conferences in Milan. MIDO takes over 6 huge pavilions of Fieramilano, one of the largest exhibition centres in the world. Every major frame designer in the world exhibits at MIDO and we're hoping to find some of the latest styles and bring them back to the UK. It's a long way to go but we want to continue our reputation for stocking some of the best frames you can find anywhere and travelling so far means we'll find things no one else can.