BBC Radio 4's You And Yours Tackles The Issues And Debate Over The Regulation Of Laser Eye Surgery 

 
An MP is calling for a change in the law over the regulation of laser eye surgery. Currently there are no specific requirements for surgeons who perform the surgery to hold specific qualifications to perform laser eye surgery & refractive treatments - they just have to be members of the GMC in order to do so. 

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The bulk of laser eye surgery is done privately and it's widely available on the high street says the programme.



You And Yours hears from a patient who wishes she hadn't had surgery and hears that the patients eyes are worse than before she had the treatment done. She describes soreness  shooting pains, unbearable itchiness and after seeing an independent specialist has learnt of resulting nerve damage in one of her eyes.



The patient goes on to describe "I think it's disgusting that they can offer this on the high street to anyone who can walk into their clinics and be offered surgery on their eyes, which are one of the precious parts of your body, and that's it's not regulated. I actually can't believe it"



John McDonnell (the Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington) has a 10 minute rule bill being read in parliament on the regulation of laser eye surgery. John is hoping to achieve proper statutory regulation to address some of the problems around laser eye surgery that patients are experiencing due to a lack of regulation.



John says "At the moment there's pressurised salesmanship going on to encourage people to take eye surgery.  There's not enough advice to people with regards to the possible problems that may occur. There's a lack of after-care and when there are problems there's a failure by many of these companies to acknowledge or address these problems. I want to have some form of statutory regulation so we get the best practice instilled across, what is, a growing industry now." 



Guest on the show, Professor Dan Reinstein (Medical Director at The London Vision Clinic) agrees with John McDonnell wholeheartedly that regulation is needed. He goes to comment how the industry has improved and a lot has positively happened over the years but more needs to be done.

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Professor Reinstein comments that post operative care is highly critical to success and if managed correctly complications are rarely a permanent problem.



You can hear the interview and debate in full at the link to the BBC Radio 4 Website, below.