Northerner
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PATIENTS looking to jump the queue for cataract surgery are being overcharged by up to three times the cost of an NHS operation, it has been claimed.
Some hospitals are demanding up to £2,700 for treatment on just one eye, as the cash-strapped health service attempts to ration the procedure.
Currently, the NHS prioritises cataract surgery for those who are struggling to carry out daily tasks because of the condition.
But a report published today suggests as many as half of hospitals offer patients the chance to pay up front for treatment in order to skip the queue.
Freedom of Information figures obtained by the Daily Mail from 78 hospital trusts in England show 41 allowed patients to self-fund the straightforward 45 minute operations.
It found that trusts were charging up to three times more than the standard cost of between £800 and £900 per eye.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/569518/NHS-patients-overcharged-skip-queue-cataract-surgery
Some hospitals are demanding up to £2,700 for treatment on just one eye, as the cash-strapped health service attempts to ration the procedure.
Currently, the NHS prioritises cataract surgery for those who are struggling to carry out daily tasks because of the condition.
But a report published today suggests as many as half of hospitals offer patients the chance to pay up front for treatment in order to skip the queue.
Freedom of Information figures obtained by the Daily Mail from 78 hospital trusts in England show 41 allowed patients to self-fund the straightforward 45 minute operations.
It found that trusts were charging up to three times more than the standard cost of between £800 and £900 per eye.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/569518/NHS-patients-overcharged-skip-queue-cataract-surgery