UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

How long on average do people have to wait for their first appointment? And is it then a long wait for the lenses?
I am struggling with my glasses, reading is ery difficult now and is making me very fed up.
One eye makes driving standard so things could be worse but I love to read!
Also has anyone any ideas how I can over come the reading problem? Books, pc etc are all a struggle now.
Thanks Donna

donna

this varies from place to place. Once you have seen an optometrist and they have decided what sort of lens you need, the time for delivering the lenses can vary as well.

I am sorry that this does not really answer your question. to be honest I can't remembver how long it took for my first referral to come through, but I know that the average time that I had to wait for lenses was about two weeks.

All the best

Andrew

Hi there,

I recall having a 5 or 6 month wait for an appointment the first time around.
It really depends whethere you have been referred to a larger, busier hospital, or one nearby. Check out which hospital is better for you. By this I mean, it would be better for you to be able to attend an eye department which also has a contact lens department so that all your records are kept in the same hospital and you get to know them and they you, quicker.

It may be that you have a choice of hospitals around your area.

Hi Donna,

You can make reading off the PC easier by changing your display settings so that everything appears larger or you can magnify
the font sizes.

Books, there are large print books available in the library, or again you could use a magnifier.

I thought that you had

and has refered me to hospital,

been referred already?

Posted: Fri 02 Feb, 2007 14:41 Post subject: Update

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I went for an eye test today because I felt there was changes to my worst eye.
I was right, but my better eye has improved, I only just made driving standard last December and today am well above that. I could see a lot more this time.
However my left eye is worse and the optom said the cone is steep and my vision has deteriorated, she has prescribed new glasses with a stronger lens in my left eye and has refered me to hospital, she said I should try Rose K.
Anyone use Rose K? Any info at all would be good!
Next eye test is in 6 months

Which hospital did your optom refer you to? and which is the nearest hospital to you which also has a contact lens clinic. I suspect it will be Manchester Royal Eye Hospital unless Carlisle has a facility.

Waiting times for your first appointment no doubt varies around the UK and according to your priority status. As your current level of eyesight is not making you dysfunctional then you are probably going to be treated as a low priority case.

The other option is to go private, but it is likely to be a very costly option, due to the trial and error fitting methods employed.
Its taken over 2 years now for MREH to get a lens suited to my KC and still it has not been resolved.

I wouldnt like to guess at the cost of the NHS treatment I have received to date, cost of lenses and time taken. Mainly due to aN NHS
system which is imo not fit for purpose due to being inadequately resourced, structured and badly managed and the interests of the patient/customer not coming first.

At a educated by experience guess I would say on the NHS your likely to have to wait 6-9 months for your first appointment unless your condition deteriorates further.

I know it varies from place to place but you could be looking at 3 months for an appt as an average, then after the lens fitting it might take 6 weeks for the new lenses to arrive [replacements come much quicker though, more like 2 weeks]

Yes I have been refered, I was just wondering how long it takes to see someone?
I was offered Hexham or Carlisle and I dont know about the contact lens dept. I chose Carlisle as its nearest.
No one mentioned Manchester?

Manchester may be the main one for the area, like Birmingham is for my area, but I get exceptional treatment from the lcoal hospital. The one you opted for may be just as good, it may not be as busy as the main one so you could get a quicker service and treated just as well possible better.