Multiple patients harmed at ‘overly cautious’ trust

Multiple glaucoma patients were harmed at a trust that was “overly cautious” about surgical intervention and did not follow national care guidelines, a royal college review has found.

The Royal College of Ophthalmologists reviewed 14 patients at Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals Foundation Trust who experienced delays in being seen by the glaucoma team. Seven of these patients had suffered some level of harm while in three other cases the review team was unable to decide if harm was caused through “aspects of service delivery”.

The trust would not confirm what level of harm these patients suffered but said they had all now received treatment.

HSJ obtained a redacted copy of the review, which also raised concerns that patients were left on maximum medical therapies while their glaucoma progressed and that assessments done by the trust were not in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance. It urged the department to ensure best practice was put in place.

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Source: HSJ, 29 August 2025