Sarah Welch: Greenlane Clinical Centre's Clinical Director of Ophthalmology on the growing backlog of Kiwis waiting for eye appointments

Some Kiwis are at risk of losing their sight as the backlog for public eye appointments grows.

More than 36 thousand New Zealanders are waiting longer than recommended for their appointments, with more than 125 thousand ophthalmology follow-ups outstanding nationwide.

Health NZ says its working to reduce the wait times caused by an ageing population, staff shortages, and overwhelmed services.

Greenlane Clinical Centre's Clinical Director of Ophthalmology, Sarah Welch told Kerre Woodham they're doing everything they can to try improve things.

She says they're potentially starting to turn a corner, but with the number of people waiting, it's not going to happen tomorrow or the next day – it'll take a year or so.

And that, Welch says, probably shows we need more capacity within ophthalmology across the country.

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