Time to get NHS appointment

[Rubysh]

Diagnosed by my optician with wet AMD and just got appointment for a retinal scan and no consultation for 10 weeks time. Worried this is too long

[springcross]

Hi Rubysh. That is not good enough. If you contact the Macular Society helpline number tomorrow: 0300 3030 111 and ask for advice or over on the right-hand side of this page is the name of the Administrators, click on one of them and then click message at the top - Becky is the one I usually contact and ask if she can help. They are very good. Good luck and let us know how you get on. All the best. xx

[Rubysh in reply to springcross]

Thank you. Have managed to get appointment changed to early October, so much better, though still 4 weeks from referral

[springcross in reply to Rubysh]

That's still a long time. You could contact Becky, she has left a message for you below this post and see if they can help you. Good luck. xx

[Hidden]

You should be seen within 2 weeks. The eye clinic should know this. Call them and ask why not. The mac soc will support you in pushing for an earlier appt.

[Caradog29]

Thats awful isn’t it! I was diagnosed 2 years ago and even before covid my wait would have been 6-8 weeks. I saw A consultant privately the next day (£150). He confirmed wet AMD and got me in his NHS clinic 4 days later when I started a course of Eylea.

I haven’t had any injections now for about 12 months, despite regular checkups. So glad I caught it early.

If you can afford a private referral I’d go for it. At least it will get you in the system. Though private injections are outside most people’s reach at about £1000 a time!

[Becky_MacularSociety Partner]

Good Morning Rubysh,

As others have said, you should be seen within 2 weeks. We know eye clinics are stretched for resources at the moment, however you still need to be seen within that time frame.

Try contacting the eye clinic directly, ask if they have an ECLO (eye clinic liaison officer) that you can speak to to try and bring you appointment to as soon as possible. (within those 2 weeks since you saw the optician).

If you are still unable to be seen sooner, you can either ring us or email us and we can help you what to do next, and if needed we can step in.

Our number is 0300 3030 111

Or email is [e-mail]

All the best

Becky

Macular Society

Advice and Information

0300 3030 111

[e-mail]

[Rubysh in reply to Becky_MacularSociety]

Thanks Becky. Have rung hospital and have managed to get appointment for early October, so hopefully that will be ok

[alalex101]

This is ridiculous! In the USA you would be seen in 3 days maximum. How is your vision? I know the diagnosis is very scary. Please know that wet amd rarely results on total blindness. Many of us are still working and driving thanks to injections that slow the progression and sometimes improve vision. We are here for you. Ask your questions and get support on this site.

[Shimano]

Endorsing what others have said. You should be seen in two weeks. Don’t know how you stand on private consultations or jags as sometimes difficult to move from private into nhs in my area. Macular society give great advice and help. All the best.

[Catseyes235]

I had to wait 17 weeks because I had had a mini stroke in between appointments. ( you have to wait 12 weeks after stroke). One eye deteriorated quite a bit so it’s back to having four weekly injections. The other was fine after all that time and has only needed to one. In times of COVID it’s been a bit stretched but Eye Hospital has been great at getting injections done but cannot always do a scan every visit. Good luck!