Patients who are unable to access a treatment for age-related blindness can now get the treatment at 13
Spire Healthcare hospitals around the UK.
Around one in eight people over the age of 85 suffer from serious age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which affects the vision and can result in complete vision loss.
Specialists at Spire Healthcare hospitals can offer a treatment that can prevent further damage to the eye and may in some cases reverse some of the damage already caused.
Timothy Dabbs, a specialist eye consultant at Spire Leeds Hospital, explained: "We inject a special drug under a local anaesthetic to control the growth of abnormal blood vessels in the eye.
"On average a patient will need six injections; they are quick procedures and patients can normally go home about an hour later."
Spire Healthcare was formed in 2007 from the sale of Bupa Hospitals to private equity company Cinven and operates 25 private hospitals around the UK.
