Cancelled cataract ops for six-year high

Cataract-surgery cancellations are likely by the end of 2017 to be at a six-year high, with 926 patients affected so far this year.

The 926 operations had been cancelled by August. With four months still to run, the figure by year-end is likely to exceed the 1,121 surgeries cancelled in 2016.

Cancellations have increased year-on-year since 2012, when the figure was 367. This year’s figure to August represents an increase of more than 150%, according to figures obtained by Sinn Féin health spokeswoman Louise O’Reilly.