Eye fight man 'forgotten' says GP

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The government has been accused by a Devon GP of "forgetting" a World War II pilot from Torquay who is going blind.

Jack Tagg, 88, from Torquay, fears he will have to sell his house to pay for vital treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

He and Dr Martin Rankin have taken cheques sent to Mr Tagg by supporters to 10 Downing Street.

Local health managers said they were following guidance suggesting only those with advanced AMD are treated.

Mr Tagg said he was told by a consultant in Torbay that he would not get injections of the drug Lucentis unless he had lost vision in his left eye.

Elsewhere in the South West the same treatment is offered for free.

Mr Tagg has started a private course of treatment which could cost up to £10,000, and put his house on the market to fund it.

If you let people go blind they need more care Jack Tagg <a class="" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/conditions/amd.shtml#what_is_it?_">Age-related macular degeneration</a> AMD is the most common cause of blindness in the UK.

But since the media coverage of his plight, cheques have been flooding in to pay for the injections.

In a direct appeal to Gordon Brown Dr Rankin said: "When Hitler decided he wanted to run Britain, like thousands of other brave men and women of his generation, Jack joined the RAF and eventually gained his 'wings' as a Wellington pilot.

"It seems to me that what Jack did for us has now been forgotten by your government.

"We would ask that you pay the cheques we have handed to your staff in to your personal account and then forward a cheque onto Mr Jack Tagg.

"We hope that being humiliated in this way will force you to sort out the problem, not just for Jack, but for everyone else in his wretched position."

But since the media coverage of his plight, cheques have been flooding in to pay for the injections.

'Simply unacceptable'

Mr Tagg said he was keen to stress that any surplus money donated would be given to an eye charity.

He said: "We want to draw the attention of the general public to this absolutely inhuman treatment of vulnerable people.

"We shall continue our campaign until they agree this simple and economic measure, because if you let people go blind they need more care."

Jack Tagg has been receiving cheques to pay for his treatment

David Sinclair, Head of Policy at Help the Aged said that many older people currently have to "resign themselves to a poorer standard of health care than their younger counterparts".

"Older people have a right to receive equal treatment and opportunity in all aspects of life," said Mr Sinclair.

"Denying people equal access to services on the basis of their age is simply unacceptable."

Torbay Primary Care Trust said the local clinical criteria used to assess the suitability of Lucentis was produced by a team from across Devon, including consultant eye surgeons (ophthalmologists) from three hospitals and based on draft guidance from the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE).

A spokesman for the trust said: "At this time, the only national guidance available for Lucentis applies to its use when this disease has reached a certain degree of severity."

"The draft NICE guidance states there is no research suggesting that the treatment is an effective or suitable treatment earlier in the progression of wet AMD."