Dedicated cataract surgery theatre at Cork hospital to cut waiting lists

Move will save millions on outsourcing treatment

Funding has been approved for the South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital (SIVUH) to refit a designed area with two side-by-side opthalmology operating theatres. File image

A dedicated cataract surgery theatre is to be developed in a Cork hospital in a bid to cut waiting lists and save millions of euro on outsourcing treatment.

Funding has been approved for the South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital (SIVUH) to refit a designed area with two side-by-side opthalmology operating theatres.

One will deal with the most complex ophthalmic cases, while the second will serve as a dedicated cataract theatre, with capacity for up to 2,000 cataract surgeries annually.

The project is expected to go to tender soon.

Cataract waiting lists nationally have soared in recent years, peaking at just over 10,000 people in July 2017. 

It has forced patients onto buses to seek treatment in Northern Ireland, with their operation costs reimbursed under the cross-border directive healthcare scheme.

The National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) pays around €1,450 per cataract operation, which is outsourced to private hospitals here or in the north.

The NTPF paid €10m for ophthalmology procedures in 2018. No breakdown on the spend is available, but medical experts say it is likely that most of this spend was on cataracts.

The NTPF outsourced 600 cataracts from SIVUH alone in 2018.

The cross-border directive scheme paid out some €12m on ophthalmology procedures in the first six months of 2019.

By the end of July 2020, the cataract waiting list had reduced to 5,525, but there are concerns that the figure could rise as a result of the cancellation of surgeries during lockdown.

Fine Gael TD for Cork North Central, Colm Burke, who played a key role establishing the NTPF during his time as an MEP, said that investing in ophthalmology services in SIUVH makes economic sense and will benefit patients.

“We need to make better use of the facilities we have in the public hospitals,” he said.

“With an investment in services here in Cork, we will start saving money very quickly, and the investment will pay for itself.

“Older people, especially, shouldn’t have to travel long distances for what is, in most cases, a routine day procedure. And while we wait for the new facilities to be developed, we need to make sure that anyone on a waiting list can access the NTPF and get their procedure done in Cork.” 

Ophthalmology services transferred from CUH to SIVUH in 2014. An existing orthopaedic theatre has been used for ophthalmology services since then.

The hospital's five ophthalmic consultant surgeons have just one day in theatre per week, with most of their time spent on complex and urgent cases. 

Having just one theatre has limited SIVUH’s capacity to perform routine cases and simple procedures such as cataracts.

It has also made it difficult for senior ophthalmology trainees to get any hands-on surgical experience.

Medics have expressed concerns that this was having an effect on cataracts patients in the public system, and was also diminishing the role of Cork as a centre for ophthalmic training.

The new funding will now allow the hospital to refit a designated area and develop two side-by-side ophthalmology theatres.

The South-South West Hospital Group did not respond to a request for a comment.