Review of Moorfields Eye Surgery
Moorfields Eye Hospital enjoys a global reputation for providing world-class laser eye surgery.
Moorfields Private is the private arm of the renowned Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and offers ophthalmic care to patients seeking a vast range of treatments for both common and complex eye health conditions.
Today, Moorfields has a number of clinics around London – located in the City, the West End, Bedford and Croydon – and treats around 400,000 outpatients and 30,000 inpatients each year.
☀ Pros: World-class reputation, highly experienced eye surgeons, central London locations, advanced technology
☂ Cons: No fixed prices (fixed by the surgeons), no monthly payment options, no free consultation
☝ Compare clinics: See if there are any other top-rated clinics near you, and use our simple tool to receive a personalised quote.
Our no-nonsense review of Moorfields Private and Moorfields NHS Eye Hospital covers:
- Moorfields Private Eye Hospital
- Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Moorfields laser eye surgery cost
- What laser eye surgeries are offered?
- Moorfields’ best consultants
- Moorfields laser eye surgery reviews
- The Verdict
1. Moorfields Private Eye Hospital
For patients who fail to meet NHS requirements, or for those looking for treatments left off NHS checklists (such as refractive surgery for the average glasses-wearer), Moorfields Private is a viable option.
Private laser eye treatments at Moorfields include the most common surgeries such as PRK, LASEK and LASIK, as well as specialist procedures for more complex conditions. Private patients also benefit from Wavefront guided surgeries, which tend to have higher success rates due to greater laser accuracy.
In addition to providing high quality treatment and aftercare, many patients like to know that the profits from Moorfields Private are used to fund the Moorfields Eye Charity, Friends of Moorfields, which supports critical new research and quality eye care for children and adults.
2. Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
If you happen to suffer from a select range of debilitating eye conditions that cannot be treated by contact lenses or glasses (such as cataracts or glaucoma), you may be one of the few people who qualify for laser eye surgery on the NHS.
Moorfields’ NHS Eye Hospital is there for these patients, but for the vast majority of us, Moorfields Private has its door open.
3. Moorfields Laser Eye Surgery Cost
While NHS treatment is free, at Moorfields Private prices will apply to all consultations and surgeries.
Laser eye surgery costs at Moorfields start at £2,000 per eye for common laser eye surgery such as LASIK or LASEK. These prices rise to between £3,000 and £4,000 per eye for more complex procedures including cataract surgery.
An initial consultation at Moorfields is around £150, and the private prices will depend on the eye surgeon you choose. That’s because the laser eye consultants are employed by Moorfields, and set their own fees.
Consultation costs
- Consultation: £150 – £200
Patients considering laser eye surgery usually book one to two consultations prior to receiving treatment. You can book your first appointment on the Moorfields Private website.
Treatment costs (per eye)
- LASIK or LASEK eye surgery: £2,000 – £2,500
- Refractive lens exchange (RLE) or cataract surgery: £3,000 – £4,000
- ICL implantation surgery: £3,000 – £4,000
Other costs
In addition to these costs, you may also need to consider covering your potential stay in the hospital for private treatment. Moorfields Private hospital fees tend to range from £900 to £1800, depending on the procedure.
However, recovery times vary, and many eye treatments allow you to leave following the surgery. Naturally, there are no hospital fees for NHS patients.
Other options?
Moorfields Private Hospital offers some of the latest laser and implantable contact lens treatments performed by world-class consultant eye specialists, and these prices reflect the clinic’s high standards.
However, if these costs are outside your budget, or you would like to compare them with other leading laser eye surgery clinics in the UK, click here to fill in a few details, and talk directly to a trusted clinic to compare their quotes and services.
To see how other eye laser surgery clinics compare with Moorfields Private, just click here to use our simple quote tool, and receive a tailored quote from any trusted clinics near you.
Paying for treatment
Opting for laser eye surgery is a financial commitment for most people, and Moorfields offers three ways of paying for your treatment:
- Private Medical Insurance – If you are covered by private healthcare, Moorfields asks that you try to verify these details before your first appointment, and obtain your pre-authorisation number.
- Self pay – Many patients pay for their own treatment, with no private insurance needed.
- Third party sponsorship – If a third party (such as your employer) has agreed to settled your account, make sure you acquire a letter of guarantee along with a deposit.
Read more: Laser eye surgery costs explained
4. Laser Eye Surgery Treatments
Moorfields Private Eye Hospital provides over 100 vision correction treatments for adults and children of all ages.
Here are some of the most requested types of laser eye surgery treatments:
- LASIK: The most common treatment to correct eye conditions such as nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism.
- LASEK: A surface laser treatment that is suitable for patients with thinner corneas (eye surfaces).
- Cataract surgery: A refractive lens exchange (RLE), which is an option for those in the “reading glasses” age group.
- ICL surgery: Implants that work like permanent contact lenses are common for younger people, or patients with medical dry eye conditions.
Moorfields Private Hospital usually performs laser sight correction surgery to both eyes on the same day, but with cataract surgery and ICL implantation, most surgeons prefer to leave a week between operating on each eye for their patients’ comfort.
5. Moorfields’ Top Surgeons
Moorfields Private and Moorfields Eye Hospital claim their ophthalmic surgeons and consultants are some of the best in Britain, and six Moorfields Private surgeons were recently named in the Daily Mail’s top doctors list.
Within the industry, Moorfields is also the go-to for ophthalmic expertise: a recent Moorfields report shows that over half of all registered ophthalmic surgeons in the UK received their training there. Not surprisingly, many Moorfields consultants also completed their training onsite.
Plus, based on hundreds of unfiltered reviews from former patients, Moorfields hosts some of the top-rated laser eye surgeons in the UK.
Here are the five best consultants at Moorfields, as voted by you:
- Mr David Gartry: As one of the first surgeons worldwide to perform laser eye surgery, they don’t come more experienced than Mr Gartry.
- Mr Julian Stevens: Mr Stevens is an advisor to the British Society for Refractive Surgery, and is recognised globally as an expert opinion leader in laser eye surgery.
- Mr Bruce Allan: Mr Allan had been the Service Director for Refractive Surgery at Moorfields since 2012.
- Ms Valerie Saw: Ms Saw’s interests lie in inflammation and scarring of the eye, and she regularly treats patients for dry eyes and conjunctivitis.
- Mr Alexander C. W. Ionides: Since 1989, Mr Ionides has specialised in cataract and refractive lens surgery for both long and short sighted conditions.
Read more: Laser Eye Surgeon reviews
6. Independent reviews of Moorfields Private Eye Hospital
Moorfields consistently receive fantastic customer reviews, making them one of the highest rated laser eye providers in the UK. Click here to read their customer reviews below.
Moorfields Eye Hospital Private Clinic is also featured as one of Lasik Eye’s best laser eye surgery clinics in the UK, as well as shining in our list of the best laser eye surgery in London for partnering with some of the most renowned surgeons.
What makes Moorfields Eye Hospital so popular?
- History – Moorfields Eye Hospital first opened in London in 1805, and is now one of the oldest and best reviewed eye hospitals in the world.
- Ophthalmic Research – Moorfields has spent over 200 years researching and providing the latest laser eye surgery and implantable contact lens treatments, in partnership with the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology.
- Cutting-edge technology – Moorfields Private is a flagship location for laser and implant manufacturers. Its surgeons are therefore able to choose from the latest state-of-the-art laser eye equipment and non-invasive techniques like Intralase technology.
- Patient care – The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rates Moorfields Eye Hospital as ‘outstanding’ for care in their latest inspection report.
But is Moorfields Eye Hospital right for you?
Not everyone is best suited to Moorfields: as you would expect, world-class laser eye surgery often comes with an eye-watering price tag.
- Expensive treatments – Although patients tend to leave rave reviews, LASEK eye surgery costs on average £2,235 per eye at Moorfields Private, but between £595 and £1,595 per eye at other leading high street eye clinics such as Optical Express.
- No free consultations – Moorfields Private is one of the few laser eye clinics in the UK not to offer free initial consultations: you can expect to pay between £150 and £200, depending on the surgeon you see.
Next Steps: Find the Top-Reviewed Clinic Near You
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Next steps: Our simple tool helps our readers every day get one step closer to 20/20 vision:
- Find a top clinic near you: Answer three questions to be matched with the leading eye clinic in your area
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Moorfields Surgeons Reviews
Mr Alexander C W Ionides
BSc FRCOphth MD.
Mr Vincenzo Maurino
Mr Bruce Allan
MD FRCS FRCOphth
Mr Stephen Tuft
Professor David S Gartry
MD, FRCS, FRCOphth, DO, BSc(Hons)
Mr Julian Stevens
MRCP, FRCS, FRCOphth,DO
Moorfields Eye Hosptial Reviews
Simon Atkinson
Mr Allan was a fantastic surgeon: confident, competent and without any attempt to “sell” me the surgery prior to my decision. Having worn glasses for 20 years, I now have excellent vision, with no need of glasses at all. I could not recommend the surgery, nor Mr Allan, enough. It has been extremely liberating!
Eric Zijdenbos
I met with Dr Bruce Allan at Moorfields in August and with my -10 far sightedness Lasik was going to be borderline. Dr Allan recommended ICLs instead. He explained the procedure and the cost, ~20% more than Lasik, and the benefits. I decided to go ahead and had the surgery done on two consecutive Friday afternoons.
The procedure itself takes a few minutes but altogether you are in the hospital for a few hours to prepare and ensure that you all ok to go. It is virtually pain free. The most uncomfortable moment is when the very bright light is put on in to the fully dilated pupil. Vision is quite blurred as you leave the hospital but it gets better quickly and within 3 days it is mostly back to normal during day time. Night vision is still slightly affected by minor and decreasing halo’s but it’s not a problem. Dr Allen explained this will go away with time as the brain starts filtering it out (apparently it has nothing to do with eye) and this is already happening.
One eye got corrected for perfect far vision and the other for optimal reading vision. As both eyes work together you essentially end up with best of both all the time.
I work on a trading floor and sit behind 6 large computer screens reading data all day. I have no problems whatsoever. In fact , this is much better than wearing normal contact lenses as the airco can tends to reduce moisture. The other remarkable benefit I noticed is that my eyes don’t dry out anymore after taking a shower in the gym when wearing contacts. After wearing contacts for decades I am still so conditioned to this that is almost weird that this isn’t happening anymore. I do find my eyes a tiny bit more ‘sticky’ in the morning when I wake up but that’s no worry to me. I’m just trying to come up with anything that is somewhat different.
The aftercare is thorough and efficient. I met with Dr Allan today for the final check up and everything has worked out much as I had hoped. I am delighted with the results and the whole routine at Moorfields. The ICL technology has been proven. It is an amazing technology and put in the capable hands of Dr Allan and his team I think you‘ll be happy with the results.
I don’t know if I would have opted for ICLs had my vision been less myopic. I like the non-intrusiveness and the potential reversibility of ICLs. I am sure many people are very happy with the results of Lasik too but if the extra money not a matter of great concern, you should certainly consider both options and ask your specialist about the benefits of ICLs.
Rachel Hendry
I underwent wavefront Lasik on both eyes to correct my short sightedness. I couldn’t recommend Ms Saw and her team enough for the quality of care, the information given to my many questions (I felt very well informed about potential problems etc), and most of all the superb results of my surgery – vision as good as I previously had with my contact lenses. Truly life chaning stuff. Thanks so much!
David Sindall
Very satisfied with my treatment. Ms Saw is excellent and the quality of aftercare is fantastic. I would highly recommend treatment here and I am delighted with the results.
Sharon Johnson
An excellent service and can not express how delighted I am with the results. Mr Allan was very helpful and reassuring, as I was nervous. I wish had had seen him years, the surgery have completely changed my life.
David Gabriel
I am pleased with the outcome. I was able to return to work within two days of surgery and I no longer require glasses. The level of care was very good and I would certainly recommend Mr Allan and his team.
Chrystala Psathite
I had collagen cross-linking one month ago with Mr. V. Maurino and his team at Moorfields Eye Hospital. I had a really quick recovery and the whole process was less painful than I was expecting. The surgery was well explained by Mr. Maurino and he was always available to discuss any queries both before and after the operation. Aftercare was excellent and as a patient I felt that he is a doctor who cares a lot about his patients and he is always willing to provide help. He is so passionate, experienced but at the same time relaxed and makes you feel that everything will be fine at the end, something really important especially if you have to pass through a surgery process. I would like to thank Mr.Maurino for everything.
Lynda Parker
After many years debating whether to have surgery I eventually booked an appointment with Ms Saw. Valerie and her team explained everything fully, addressed my worries and put me at ease. The procedure was easier than I thought it would be and I only wish I had done it sooner. Thanks to Ms Saw I do not need glasses anymore.
C Paterson
Was -6.5/-6.00. Very happy with the results so far -4 months post surgery and pretty much perfect vision (better than my previous best corrected vision). I found the 2 days after treatment very uncomfortable and didn’t start getting crisp vision until about day 20 but have had 0 complications. Very happy with the service provided by Mr Allan.
Caroline Bromley
Romesh is not only an amazing surgeon but also an extremely nice person. He makes you feel so at ease and takes such care in explaining everything and calling you personally after surgery. My eyes did not co operate at first but Romesh was so thorough and did not rest until he had found a solution.
His PA Sonia and Nat, his Optometrist are both super too, always so friendly and efficient.