Covid: 'I'm blind in one eye after cancelled pandemic appointments'

An 80-year-old woman has said she lost her sight in one eye after her regular hospital eye clinic appointments were cancelled during the Covid pandemic.

Janet Harris said: "I do blame the health board because they should have carried on with the appointments.

"It's awful to think they could have saved my sight."

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board said it worked to ensure patients "were receiving the appropriate level of care required for their condition".

Mrs Harris said that in 2019 she attended three appointments to monitor her eye pressure at the eye unit at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff.

She said she did not have another appointment until December 2021, after she notified the eye unit about the major change in her vision.

"I put my hand over my left eye and realised I couldn't see a thing," she said.

Following tests at the hospital in the week before Christmas, "they confirmed what I already knew, that I couldn't see from my right eye".

"I couldn't believe it when they said they couldn't do anything to save my sight. I came out of there crying."

Mrs Harris said she believes that had the appointments continued during the pandemic, "they would have seen it getting worse and would have been able to do something".

BBC Wales has seen a letter from a consultant ophthalmic surgeon, dated February 2022, stating: "I was sorry to see that you have lost the vision in the right eye, but equally pleased that your left eye continues to do well."

Mrs Harris, who has lived in the Grangetown area of Cardiff all her life, described 2021 as a "cruel year, when everything piled up" - in March she lost her husband Kenneth, aged 81, after 59 years of marriage.

But she added: "I've got four children, 10 grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, and only one eye. I've got to try to joke about it."

However, she said she still suffers from "thumping pain in the back of my head because of pressure" and the loss of peripheral vision to her right eye "makes life more difficult".

A spokesperson for Cardiff and Vale University Health Board said: "To ensure our teams could continue to deliver safe and effective care to patients during the height of the pandemic and in line with Covid-19 guidance, some scheduled clinics and treatments were running at reduced capacity and in some instances, patient appointments were postponed.

"Measures were put in place by the health board to maintain continuity of care including offering virtual appointments, working closely with our colleagues in primary care to continue essential services and rescheduling appointments for a later date.

"We worked in collaboration with our patients to ensure they were receiving the appropriate level of care required for their condition, based on need.

"As a health board, we would urge anyone who identifies a deterioration in their condition to speak to their healthcare provider, even if they are on a waiting list.

"Your primary care team are available within the community and can provide advice, guidance and support on a range of health conditions, including optometrists who would be your primary choice for any deterioration in eye health.

"We are sorry to hear that Mrs Harris feels that she has not received the appropriate care and we would advise her to contact our concerns department if she would like to discuss this further."