A mother of three has been awarded £3.2m in compensation after delays in treating an eye condition led to her going permanently blind.
The woman, in her 30s, first visited an optician in June 2016 after noticing her sight worsening. She was diagnosed with glaucoma and referred to Southampton Eye Hospital, where she was prescribed eye-drops and told she would have follow-up appointments. However, she did not see a senior consultant until February 2018, by which time she was registered blind and her sight loss could not be reversed.
Victoria Hydon of Moore Blatch solicitors said the impact had been 'devastating' and that the mother's eyesight would have been saved if she had been operated on by the end of 2016. An internal NHS serious investigation report last year found 15 other patients were left blind or with worsened sight loss after delays in identifying risk factors, and more than 4,000 patients had not been seen as quickly as needed.
University Hospital Southampton NHS Trust said it had taken steps to address the backlog, with all patients now risk-assessed. An NHS spokesman added that delays and a shortage of ophthalmic specialists were a 'significant national problem', noting that 88% of trusts have backlogs in diabetes and glaucoma and there are more than 80 consultant vacancies in England.
