Sight campaign man goes to No 10

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A World War II pilot from Torquay who is going blind is taking his campaign to get the NHS to pay for treatment to Gordon Brown's door.

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 is taking cheques sent to him by supporters to 10 Downing Street.

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

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.

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.

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

He is also due to visit Downing Street on Thursday to present some of the cheques from more than 100 doctors from around the country who support his case.

'Inhuman treatment'

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."

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by a team from across Devon, including consultant eye surgeons (ophthalmologists) from three hospitals and based on draft guidance from the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE).

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

"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."