A RADICAL new system which will completely change the way cataract patients are treated in Blackburn and Burnley is to be introduced next month.

The pioneering East Lancashire Opthamology Service, which takes patients from both Burnley NHS Trust and Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley NHS Trust, is set to become the first trust in the UK to introduce the changes, which will dramatically cut down waiting times for patients and ease GPs' and consultants' workloads.

From November 26, people with cataracts needing surgery will be referred direct to opthamology consultants in Burnley from their optician, cutting out waiting times in many cases of up to two years.

It is estimated up to 1,000 patients could be helped by the changes in the first year.

It is the first time opticians have been able to refer patients. At the moment, sufferers must be referred by their GP.

The changes come on top of several schemes which have already cut waiting times from 35 weeks for an initial outpatient appointment two and a half years ago to 17 weeks currently. That is expected to be cut even further.

John Newberry, chair of East Lancashire Local Optical Committee, said: "It is good news for the patients because they are not dealing with the hospital, but just going to their optometrist; it is good news for the GPs, because they have less paperwork and it is good news for the surgeons because they were spending a lot of time seeing patients before surgery."

Ninety per cent of opticians in the area have joined the scheme and it is expected to cover the whole area soon.

The scheme, which is likely to be followed by trusts nationwide in line with government guidelines, has had to be worked out between GPs, consultants and opticians, who will be expected to take more time counselling cataract patients who in the past would have talked their case through with their GP.

In future GPs will receive automatic notification of a patient's referral but will not have to see them for cataracts.

Patients won't see an immediate drop in waiting lists, as a backlog of patients will have to be cleared, but will see a difference within a few months.

Val Smith, clinical manager for acute services at Burnley NHS Trust, said the trust, as the biggest in the country after teaching trusts, was forward-thinking compared with many. "Certainly for patients over the last two years - particularly ones with cataracts - their journey has changed unrecognisably. I think we are more pro-active than the norm and there is a lot of progress being made. This is all about smoothing the patient's journey and overall waiting times will be less."

She added: "We certainly have a better service than many areas. And now people will find it more convenient and will be able to get access better."

Changes already introduced include cataract clinics and nurse practitioners visiting patients at home the next day, rather than a patient staying in hospital.

Cataracts, a change in the condition of the lense of the eye, are most common in older people, where they can take years before needing surgery. In a younger person, cataracts spread more quickly and can need operating on within a year.

Surgery is usually extremely effective, sometimes improving the eyesight at distance so much patients no longer need their glasses.