Public cataract & pterygium surgery at Murwillumbah

Dr Weaver wants specialist eye surgery to be available to everyone in Northern NSW, whether or not they have private health insurance. He has a public operating list at Murwillumbah District Hospital, where he performs cataract and pterygium surgery for eligible patients of the Northern NSW Local Health District. This means you can have eye surgery closer to home in the Tweed Valley.

• Cataract surgery: the cloudy lens is removed and replaced with a clear lens implant.
• Pterygium surgery: the growth is removed, and a thin graft of your own tissue is placed over the area to lower the chance of it growing back.

You need a referral, then a first appointment with Dr Weaver. At this visit he checks your eyes, confirms whether surgery is right for you, and puts you on the hospital waitlist.

1. Referral: ask your GP or optometrist for a referral to Dr Weaver.
2. Appointment: see Dr Weaver at his Tweed Heads rooms for a full assessment. A Medicare rebate applies to the consultation fee.
3. Waitlist: if public surgery suits you, Dr Weaver places you on the Murwillumbah Hospital surgery waitlist.

There are two separate waitlists: one for the clinic appointment and one for surgery. Dr Weaver's rooms manage the clinic waitlist. Murwillumbah District Hospital manages the surgery waitlist, using NSW Health urgency categories.

Waitlist 1: the clinic appointment

You must see Dr Weaver at the Tweed Heads rooms before surgery can be arranged. The wait for this appointment can be several weeks to several months. Your referral is checked to decide how urgently you need to be seen. Urgent problems, such as vision getting worse quickly or a possible retinal detachment, are seen first.

Waitlist 2: surgery

If surgery is recommended, you join a separate waitlist for the operation. So, for a non-urgent problem, the total time from referral to surgery can be long.

The hospital sets the order using NSW Health urgency categories:

• Category A: surgery within 30 days
• Category B: surgery within 90 days
• Category C: surgery within 365 days. Most routine cataract and pterygium surgery is in this group.

How long you may wait

Waits for routine surgery vary a lot. For cataract surgery, the wait can be several months to more than a year. If your vision or daily life is badly affected while you wait, please call the rooms. You may want to talk about private surgery, which can usually be arranged much sooner.

If you would rather not wait, private surgery can usually be arranged sooner. Your out-of-pocket cost depends on your health fund policy, and you will get a written estimate before you decide.

Known gap with all health funds

Dr Weaver is a known gap provider with all Australian private health funds. If you have private hospital cover, your out-of-pocket cost for the surgeon's fee may be reduced or removed. Your hospital excess and other doctors' fees may still apply.

If you have private hospital cover, call your health fund before your appointment to check what is covered. Make sure your policy includes cataract surgery. Cataracts must be covered by Gold hospital policies, but are optional on Silver, Bronze and Basic policies. Pterygium surgery falls under the Eye category, which Bronze, Silver and Gold policies must include.

If you do not have private health insurance, you can still choose private surgery and pay for it yourself. You will get a full cost estimate at your appointment, so you can decide what is right for you.

Dr Weaver performs private surgery at:

• Miami Private Hospital, Gold Coast
• Tweed Day Surgery, Tweed Heads
• Pacific Private Hospital, Southport

Dr Weaver also operates on public patients at Gold Coast University Hospital, the main public hospital for the Gold Coast. Public patients in the Gold Coast region who need urgent or complex retinal surgery are treated there.