Pensioner refused sight treatment
Updated on 11 March 2008
A grandmother has said she faces going blind unless she can persuade local NHS chiefs to fund sight-saving treatment for her.
Margaret Coates, 79, sole carer for her disabled ex-serviceman husband, Alfred, 81, fears not being able to see her five children and six grandchildren.
Mrs Coates, a retired insurance worker, suffers from wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a condition that can lead to blindness in both eyes in three months.
The pensioner, from Bromley, south-east London, was told by Bromley Primary Care Trust that it would not fund treatment to stop her going blind.
She has since been forced to dip into her life savings to fund three treatment injections privately, costing £770 a time. But with the money fast running out, Mrs Coates says she cannot afford more expensive private treatment she believes would be more beneficial to her and is calling on the local PCT to help.
Mrs Coates, who has diabetes, said: "I can't believe the PCT is abandoning me like this when I could lose my sight. The thought of going blind terrifies me, as I won't be able to look after Alfred. This would break my heart.
"Not being able to see the precious things in life you take for granted, like my family and friends, would destroy me. I dread to think what life would be like if I couldn't see my children and grandchildren again.
The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and the Macular Disease Society (MDS) have taken up Mrs Coates' case in the hope Bromley PCT will reverse its decision.
Barbara McLaughan, the RNIB's campaigns manager, said: "This is a shameful way for Bromley PCT to treat its patients. The clock is literally ticking to save Mrs Coates' sight, yet the PCT is turning its back on her.
Bromley PCT said it was not able to comment on individual patients but said it was abiding by current criteria.
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