Eye laser patients look to Scotland
OVERSEAS patients coming to Scotland for eye laser
treatment are helping a Glasgow-based specialist recover
from the industry-wide downturn caused by bad publicity
last year.
Neil McEwen, managing director of Advanced
Laser Eye Clinic, said about 5% of his customers now
come from mainland Europe, the Middle East, Asia and
even Australia. He said the numbers were growing by
about 15% a year, in many cases because international
customers thought the standard of laser eye surgery
was lower at home. McEwen said: "Throughout the world,
the British medical profession has a high standing.
"It makes sense for people to travel to Britain [for
treatment]. It used to be Harley Street, but now there
is no reason why people in Scotland can't offer a similar
kind of service."
He added that Advanced, which also has
surgeries in Aberdeen and Belfast and treats about 2000
patients a year, has also benefited from word of mouth
and a strong presence on the internet. Optimax and Optical
Express, which both compete with Advanced in Scotland
and have operations further south, said that while they
dealt with overseas customers in Scotland, it was considerably
less than 5% of patients.
The industry suffered from a series of
media stories early in 2003, claiming that standards
of care were not always high enough and that patients
could be gambling with their sight if they had surgery.
The Eye Laser Association, which represents the industry
across the UK, says that eye laser surgery sales fell
by between 30% and 40% in 2003 . This year, however,
sales have risen by about 20% because of returning con
fidence . The ELA estimates the industry turns over
about £100m, with £15m coming from Scotland.
Christopher Neave, chairman of the ELA,
said: "The market is still not as buoyant as before;
there has been an improvement in the climate and it
is gradually building up. This is because there is nothing
fundamentally wrong with laser eye treatment. On the
contrary, it is a highly successful procedure." He said
the stories only referred to a tiny minority of practitioners,
but it was easy to damage confidence because eye laser
surgery is still a relatively new procedure.
Steven Vass, The Herald
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Clients of the Advanced Laser
Eye Clinic have their say on TV and in the Press.
"It¹s the best money I¹ve
ever spent and it¹s so much more
convenient than wearing glasses."
Graeme McDougall, Glasgow Evening Times
"In my case, it worked spectacularly.
It didn¹t hurt.
My vision assumed full clarity within 24 hours."
Jim McBeth, The Scotsman
"Three hours
later, I was watching TV without glasses for the first
time
in 14 years. And it could be a coincidence that I¹ve
hit a rich vein of
form on the golf course. But I don¹t think so."
Lindsay McGarvie, The Sunday Mail
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