No experience of ophthalmic services, but when I enquired about varicose vein surgery the GP was sorry but no point referring me as the local clinical commissioning group was refusing referrals even those that met NICE guidelines.

No clinical reason to refuse referrals, purely financial. GP was just as angry as me but CCG says no!

Update.

Cataract surgery 12 February and it was fine. Arrived about 1 pm, 9th out of 12 to be done that afternoon, discharged at 4.15 pm.

Saw consultant 4 weeks later (on a Sunday morning) and was told to go ahead and get new specs and then decide if I wanted the other eye doing. No cataract but apparently some people cannot cope with the imbalance between the 2 prescriptions. So far I have had no issues with this.

Had my eyes tested a week later and said thanks but no thanks to their kind offer of £500 for one pair of Varifocals. Took the prescription to Specsavers and got 2 pairs of Varifocals (one with a medium tint like I have had before) and a pair of single vision readers for £330, happier with that.

When the brighter weather arrived early May I soon found that the medium tint which was fine for driving etc was now a bit ineffective with my new lens implant when out walking etc on really bright days. Tried to get a suitable clip on but the ones I had used before were over £40 and none fitted the frame correctly.

So on the advice of a friend I went to Asda armed with my prescription. Chose a frame from their all in £45 range and that includes varifocal lenses if you need them, anti scratch and anti gale coatings. It also includes a free tint should you wish thus I chose the darker one. They decide what thickness lens you get, my stronger one dictated a 1.67 lens which is thinner than the Specsavers ones.

I was sceptical to say the least about what I would get but lets say that 2 months later I am more than happy. No more Specsavers varifocals for me, Asda every time but I will still use Specsavers for my readers, £25 all in is a £20 saving over Asdas best.

Only problems I have had were 6 weeks after the surgery I got conjunctivitis (probably unconnected) and then 2 weeks later further discomfort made me make another Sunday appointment (8.30 this time) with the consultant who told me I now have Blepharitis in both eyes and need more long term drops (probably unconnected again).

Visual field check early August and consultant early September for my regular twice a year check up for Glaucoma and here's hoping all is fine, it certainly seems to be.

we usually get round these by having a Private Consult (we have small health plan which pays a preportion) after the consult the Consultant then arranges a prompt appointment on his NHS list for any follow up required.

Yes, and this is the rub, this should not be allowed it happens in all areas whereby a private consultation putting inflated sums into a private hospital and consultants pocket. The hours the consultant works privately could be put into lowering the waiting lists and giving a even shake for all.

I wear glasses all the time, and as an alternative to clip-ons, I've found that overglasses work very well - just slip them on over your glasses. Mine are made by Duco - under £20 from Amazon.

I bought a couple of pairs of fit overs about 10 years ago. I was diagnosed with dry eye and found that after driving the Caterham I would suffer discomfort for a couple of days. Bought 2 pairs from our local garden centre, £12 a pair. one was the yellow night vision type (for when I was out at night - not very often but they were actually great on dull days) and the other a grey tint for normal weather. Both had UVA and UVB and good distortion free lenses. Worked a treat in the car, no more sore eyes, but when out walking I found the large frames to be quite distracting and they made photography using the viewfinder impossible.

Since getting the cataract sorted and buying the prescription sunglasses I have bought a pair of clear safety overspecs from a company called i-sunglasses and they are really great in the Caterham. Not cheap, about £20 but as well as UVA and UVB they have shatterproof lenses, potentially useful in the Caterham.