Vision is arguably our most important sense. Most of us take sight for granted for most of our lives. But many pensioners each year endure a sudden deterioration in eyesight, due to cataracts.

The impact on sufferers' quality of life is marked. Their independence is compromised. The home they have lived in happily for years becomes a dangerous obstacle course. Simple pleasures, such as admiring a grandchild's picture, reading a book or watching the television, become an ordeal.

Correcting cataracts is a relatively straightforward operation. Soon after surgery, the patient's sight returns and a normal life returns with it. In an ideal world, the suffering would only last a matter of weeks. But we live in a far from ideal world. The National Health Service is under pressure and waiting lists are long. From the first visit to the doctor to the full restoration of sight can take months, even years.

Haxby pensioner Jean Heaven decided she could not wait any longer after nearly suffering a nasty fall because of her cataracts. She paid £1,800 to have private treatment to correct the vision in one eye.

Then, to her consternation, Mrs Heaven found that the surgery had an unknown side-effect. It pushed her to the back of the NHS waiting list. Now she faces another long delay before her second eye is operated on at York District Hospital.

It must be infuriating for Mrs Heaven, but her case illustrates the hard choices our health service staff face every day.

The hospital did not demote her as a punishment for going private. Every patient who pays for surgery eases the burden on the NHS, after all. Instead, this was a purely clinical decision. Her eyesight was considerably improved, so she was less of a priority than those waiting for operations on both eyes.

Mrs Heaven is right to be angry. All pensioners languishing on the waiting list should feel equally aggrieved. They have paid into the health service all their lives, only to find it lacking when they need it most.

Many older people simply cannot afford to go private. They face months of pain or discomfort with no prospect of early relief.

As long as society is prepared to accept an under-funded NHS, this preventable suffering will continue. Cataract patients will unavoidably be regarded as a low priority by hospitals because their condition is not life threatening.

It is, however, quality of life threatening. Our old people deserve better.

see COMMENT 'Operation queue woman sees red'

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