Eye patient welcomes rethink

7:45pm Wednesday 27th August 2008

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A woman said she was delighted by the decision to make a drug available to save the sight of thousands of eye patients.

Nice has recommended the drug Lucentis for NHS use after performing a U-turn on draft guidance published last year.

'If I had waited for my application to go through, I would probably be blind by now. I know money is important, but the human race should reach for higher targets'

Hana Whitton

The move will help those suffering wet age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of sight loss in the UK, which destroys the central retina.

Hana Whitton, 57, from Hinton Waldrist, faced going blind three years ago, when the NHS would not pay for Lucentis.

She paid for treatment privately, because she was already blind in her left eye and feared losing her sight completely.

After two injections, her condition - myopic degeneration of the retina - improved and she hopes she will not need further treatment.

Mrs Whitton said: "I'm delighted by this decision. I sympathise with those who are trying to get Sunitinib.

"I was in absolute turmoil at the time and I wouldn't have been able to cope if it was not for the support of my husband Paul and Abingdon Baptist Church."

Mrs Whitton, originally from the Czech Republic, works as a translator for publishers and has been able to keep working with the help of visual aids provided by Oxfordshire's visual handicap team.

Mrs Whitton paid about £7,000 for Lucentis. She said: "If I had waited for my application to go through, I would probably be blind by now. I know money is important, but the human race should reach for higher targets."

The cost of a Lucentis injection is £761.20.