CATARACT sufferers in Swindon will have to wait no more than three weeks for their operations.
The government has launched a drive to cut waiting times for patients with eye problems, allocating £56 million to the initiative.
And Swindon is leading the way, having slashed its waiting lists for cataract operations to three weeks.
Just three years ago, patients waiting for the same operation faced an average wait of 18 months.
The turnaround has come thanks to a package of extra funding from Swindon Primary Care Group which has helped to pay for Saturday and Sunday sessions at Westbury NHS Community Hospital. Latest figures released by the Department of Health show that of 192 eye patients in Swindon, 147 were seen in three months, 40 were seen in six months, three in nine months and the remaining two within the year.
Hospital spokesman Chris Birdsall said: "It has been a tremendous effort by all the staff concerned."
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