The retired bank manager wore glasses with a minus 11 prescription lens after becoming very short-sighted as a child. But now, 74 years later, he no longer needs them after his surgery.
A recent eye examination detected advanced cataracts in both eyes and Mr Bradshaw was offered different options for his treatment, including surgery in the UK at Newmedica, which is part of the Specsavers group.
Mr Bradshaw benefited from the partnership between Specsavers in Market Street and the Southampton eye hospital, which enabled all his outpatient care to take place in Guernsey, with just a day trip to Hampshire for his surgery.
The morning of his surgery he took the red eye flight to Southampton and arrived at the nearby clinic at 8am. By 9am he was in theatre, and by 9.30am he was getting used to his glasses-free vision. He was back home in Guernsey by 4pm.
‘My vision was absolutely transformed in minutes. It is just remarkable how something so life-changing could at the same time feel so straightforward as a patient. I am so grateful to Specsavers and Newmedica. All the care I received was flawless,’ he said.
‘I’m still adjusting to not wearing glasses. All my life it was the first thing I’d reach for in the morning and the last thing I’d do at night was take them off. I still find myself trying to do that. I can’t tell you how amazing it is.’
Following his referral from Specsavers Market Street, Mr Bradshaw attended a pre-assessment appointment at the Newmedica outpatient clinic, based at the Specsavers head office in La Villiaze, St Andrew’s.
Clinicians from Southampton regularly travel over to provide on island clinics. This first appointment enabled the team to discuss his treatment, including different lens options. Between that and his surgery he had a video call with the surgeon to finalise the plan.
‘Most cataract patients will have their eyes operated on one by one, with weeks in between. But as my sight was so bad, I was told I really needed to have both eyes done at the same time, otherwise there would be far too much of an imbalance between surgery,’ said Mr Bradshaw.
‘Not all cataract surgeons will do this, but my consultant at Newmedica is highly experienced at treating complex cases.’
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