Fight to save veteran's eyesight

25/02/2008

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and the Macular Disease Society (MDS) have joined forces to help a Hertfordshire man win a battle to save his sight, as his local NHS Trust is refusing to pay for the sight saving treatment he urgently needs.

Edward Meaton, 74, from St Albans, risks losing the sight in his right eye following a refusal by West Hertfordshire PCT to pay for vital treatment that could stop him from going blind. Mr Meaton has been told that he needs to go blind eye in one eye, before considered for treatment in his second eye.

A distraught Mr Meaton, who served as a gunner in the Royal Artillery and worked as a manager in the gas industry for over 40 years, said: "West Hertfordshire PCT’s refusal to fund my treatment has had a devastating impact on me. I can’t understand why the PCT is turning its back on me, especially when treatments are available. I’m completely at their mercy, as I can’t afford to pay for private treatment. I’ll be heartbroken if I lose my sight and I hope the PCT will have a change of heart before it’s too late."

RNIB and MDS have taken up Mr Meaton’s case and are making an urgent appeal to West Hertfordshire PCT to reverse its decision.

Mr Meaton has the sight-threatening eye condition wet Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) – a condition that affects 26,000 people in the UK and can lead to blindness in as little as three months. He is desperately trying to save the sight in his right eye and fears he will develop AMD in his second eye. Patients with wet AMD have a 50 per cent risk of developing the condition in their second eye within five years.

Having had his application for funding rejected, Mr Meaton is now making an urgent appeal to the PCT’s Exceptions Committee, but he must prove ‘exceptional circumstances’ to qualify for treatment – a process that can be long and incredibly stressful.

Sight saving drugs Lucentis and Macugen have been licensed for the treatment of AMD, but a restrictive funding policy adopted by many PCTs has meant that only a small minority of patients have qualified for treatment.

RNIB Campaigns Manager, Barbara McLaughan, said: "By using such narrow funding criteria to decide who should get treatment, West Hertfordshire PCT is needlessly putting patients, like Mr Meaton, at risk of losing their sight. Patients are having to face a stark choice - either pay for private treatment, or risk going blind. I hope the PCT will reverse its decision and agree to fund Mr Meaton’s treatment, before his eyesight deteriorates further."

Under West Hertfordshire PCT’s funding policy, 80 per cent of patients with wet AMD are automatically excluded from treatment, as they must first go blind in one eye, before being considered for treatment in their second eye.

But under draft guidance issued recently by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)* - which has already been adopted by some PCTs - Mr Meaton would automatically receive treatment. It recommends that the sight saving drug Lucentis should be available to patients with wet AMD, whether it is their first or second eye that is affected.

RNIB and MDS are calling on the PCT to throw a lifeline to Mr Meaton, and other patients throughout West Hertfordshire, by agreeing to switch to the new draft NICE guidance now, rather than waiting for final guidance later in the year.

Tom Bremridge, Chief Executive of the Macular Disease Society, said: "This is a disgraceful way for West Hertfordshire PCT to treat Mr Meaton. Given the extra cost of supporting people who go blind, PCTs are mistaken in thinking they will save money by denying patients treatment for AMD."

The RNIB and the Macular Disease Society have launched an advocacy service called Action for AMD Treatments. Any patient needing help accessing licensed anti-VEGF treatments should call RNIB’s Helpline on 0845 766 9999 or the Macular Disease Society Helpline on 0845 241 2041.