1:42pm Wednesday 27th August 2008
Near-blind Joan Armstrong from Southfields may soon get sight-saving treatment on the NHS, it has been announced.
Guidelines issued this week are likely to mean Wandsworth Primary Care Trust (PCT) will be obliged to treat all patients like Mrs Armstrong in the next few months.
The 82-year-old Wimbledon Park Road resident had previously been told she must go blind in one eye before receiving treatment for her Wet Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD).
She said: "I'm so happy. I have been fighting to get treatment for over a year and a half, so this is the best news I've had since I started to lose my sight.
“What I now need is for Wandsworth PCT to contact me with my first appointment - I'll then be able to look forward to the future."
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published guidelines, which specified who could be eligible for the drug Lucentis.
The criteria is wide, meaning more people in Wandsworth can receive the drug for their wet AMD.
The PCT previously used the absence of NICE final guidelines as an excuse not to prescribe, but will now be given an estimated three months to change its policy.
Steve Winyard at the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) said: "It is a victory for thousands, bringing overwhelming relief to desperate people across the country.
“Finally the torment faced by elderly people forced to either spend their life savings on private treatment or go blind, is over."
There are 26,000 new cases of wet AMD in the UK each year and the condition can lead to blindness in as little as three months if left untreated.
For advice call the RNIB helpline on 0845 766 9999 or the Macular Disease Society Helpline on 0845 241 2041.
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