THE campaign to persuade Noble’s Hospital to install specialist equipment for the treatment of Britain’s most common cause of sight loss has reached the floor of Tynwald.

Questions were asked at yesterday’s sitting by Speaker of the House of Keys Steve Rodan (Garff) about the levels of treatment available on the Island for Age Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD).

With an estimated 40-50 Isle of Man residents diagnosed each year with ARMD, Mr Rodan wanted to know what treatment is available on the Island and, if not, how much was it costing to send patients to the UK for treatment.

Health Minister David Anderson said the cost of sending patients to the UK for treatment was currently under review with the possibility of providing treatment on the Island not yet ruled out.

Worried residents recently conducted a high profile awareness campaign to increase public awareness of the number of people on the Island suffering from ARMD, including a petition outside supermarkets, urging Noble’s Hospital to buy specialist equipment for treatment.

The high cost of the equipment has been the major factor in Noble’s Hospital not being able to treat ARMD sufferers on the Island, instead needing to travel to Aintree Hospital on Merseyside for the specialist treatment.

Health Minister David Anderson, responding to Mr Rodan’s questions, said the cost of sending patients to Aintree Hospital during 2010 was £350,440, with each patient requiring approximately four visits over three months, plus a further three visits likely afterwards, but not necessarily for all patients.

Such visits are estimated to cost the Isle of Man a further £60,000 to £110,000 a year.

Mr Anderson added, “We are currently reviewing the costs along with the risks and benefits of providing this service on Island. I hope to be able to update members on any proposed developments within the next few months.”

•  Research published in 2011 outlined the projected number of cases of ARMD and the numbers with attributable sight loss in the UK in 2010-2020. This revealed that in the UK, 608,213 persons in 2010 are estimated to have ARMD and this is expected to increase to 755,867 by the end of the decade.