General Chat

I find myself struggling with depression, and more and more frequently think about ending my life. This is caused by a number of things; the fact that I will live in constant pain for the rest of my life, and knowing that I will never see properly again. I too inhabit a gloomy grey world that has lost so much colour and clarity. If people could see the world through my eyes for a moment they would stop complaining about dull weather!
A contributing factor of my depression is the despicable way that I have been treated by this barbaric industry, especially by Optimax/Ultralase owner Russell Ambrose. Sadly so many of you understand exactly what I mean, and know what it does to us our lives.

Lately the weather has been very grey, and so has my vision, and even worse my mood. This has been making me so depressed I think I could be heading for a depressive disorder. I can not believe how I have been robbed (not just money) of my most cherished gift of perfect sight. This week it's exactly a year since the b*stards removed my healthy natural lens from my left eye. Oh what I would do to restore it!
May the perpetrators of this crime dwell in living hell, as they've condemned so any of us to do.

After ‘postponing' our meeting on Wednesday (see 4 Feb), Dr Dan Poulter has made no attempt to reschedule. Nor has he acknowledged my email!

I believe the Minister may soon regret his apparent lack of interest and concern in this major health scandal!

It's one thing doing nothing about a matter you're unaware of, but when you're hand fed the evidence and still do nothing, then there can be no acceptable excuse!

Meanwhile, after I sent a second email to Kate Miller on Monday, Oculentis also continue to ignore me, while failing to update their website (since 9 January ’15).

They claim:
"As with any complex surgery, complications will arise for a small minority of patients."

Yet an Optical Express patient sent this to me yesterday: "At a follow up appointment on 21st January 2015 I raised my concerns and was told that OE had stopped fitting the Mplus X lens”.

Oh, what a tangled web we weave

lawyers wrote: ...when you phone up they say sorry I cant help because its over 3 years ...
Thanks ULTRALASE! They refused my surgery at first then after several meetings decided it was ok even though they said I had thin corneas & scarring on my eye

I also thought this until recently - but it's 3 years from the day you are told that there is no more than can be done - that is then your 'date of knowledge'.
Dani

The CQC and HIS are vitally important in providing monitoring and scrutiny of standards and quality of patient care. The sooner that HIS does actually commence regulation of Independent Clinics in Scotland the better.

I firmly believe however that there is also a need for a central (government) agency to collect and analyse outcomes of all refractive treatments from all providers. Honest, transparent, accurate and meaningful statistics need to be made available to patients to assist them with truly informed consent? Can the "sales driven" High Street Clinics like Optical Express be trusted to provide this?

This is most certainly outside the remit of the CQC/HIS.

In 2014 I had discussions with the CQC, GMC, GOC, and of course the Department of Health, and I can assure you that it is ONLY the government who can regulate this industry!!

Although the CQC have denied this, I am assured by OE whistleblowers that on many occasions OE clinic managers have been give advance warning of CQC visits!

Earlier last year the CQC invited me to join a volunteer scheme to visit OE premises. I had better things to do than waste my time checking whether the floors were clean!!

And I'm sure the CQC will be the first to admit that this is not in their remit.

"REGULATOR MUST ESTABLISH FAR STRICTER INSPECTIONS"

See the Daily Mail article and the above section regarding the Care Quality Commission - CQC and the need for provision of far stricter inspections and monitoring.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2896410...t-lens-implants.html

In Scotland we do not have the Care Quality Commission. We used to have "The Care Commission".

From April 2011 Healthcare Improvement Scotland - HIS. took over the regulation of Independent Healthcare in Scotland.

From their website:
"Healthcare Improvement Scotland is currently responsible for regulating independent hospitals, voluntary hospices, and private psychiatric hospitals. Regulation of independent clinics, independent medical agencies and independent ambulance services has not yet commenced".

"The Scottish Government consulted on the future arrangements for regulation of independent healthcare services, including the definition and scope of the services that should be regulated last year and are currently considering the way forward."

Last year would of course be 2013. It is now 2015 and they have still not yet commenced any regulation or scrutiny of Eye Clinic Surgery Providers in Scotland!

If you follow the link below you will find the email of the Policy Manager, The Quality Unit, The Person Centred & Quality Team, Health and Social Care, The Scottish Government.

Scottish patients please do get in touch with him and demand that this is addressed urgently.

www.healthcareimprovementscotland.org/ou...dent_healthcare.aspx

Today is David Moulsdale's birthday and I have a message for him



And...

I just had to go to my local Royal Mail sorting office to pay postage for a letter Stephen Hannan sent to me as he didn't pay the postage!

So I've just paid £1.73 for a letter telling me that I cannot have my money back!

Happy New Year to you too Stephen Hannan!!

How foolish to trust this company with our eyes when they can't even pay postage for a letter!!!!

I know Optical Express is having financial problems, but this is pathetic!

Laser eye surgery from £395?! Was it not £595?!