Neil Michael joined the passengers on the 50th ‘cataract express’ bus as they travelled to the North to undergo the routine I procedure that public patients are forced to wait years to have performed by the HSE

Some public patients in West Cork are having to wait up to five years for cataract surgery, according to a new survey from the Association of Optometrists Ireland.

Patients in West Cork can wait five years for cataract surgery, with the average waiting time nationwide at 28 months, according to a survey by optometrists.

There is a five-year waiting list for cataract surgery in West Cork, according to the Association of Optometrists Ireland (AOI).