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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
Compare Moorfields Private with the highest independently reviewed eye laser clinics near you – see if you’re eligible for 20/20 vision or your money back, and receive your very own personalised quote.
Our mission at Lasik Eyes is to make it easy to choose the right clinic for your ophthalmic treatment, pop in for a free consultation, and talk through your options with an eye expert. Here’s how:
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
- Check you’re eligible in minutes: Receive a quick call to check you can get surgery (we will never share your number with anyone else)
- Receive a tailored quote: Talk to an expert at a clinic you can trust for a free eye test (worth £800) and personalised quote (with no obligation)
☛ Click here to find the best clinic near you, and receive a tailored quote.
Our Testimonials
It's now a year since Mr Gartry performed Wavefront Lasik on my extreme short sight (-8.50) and astigmatism. I can honestly say that the results are fantastic and at the age of 50 I do not yet need reading glasses. Distance vision is perfectly OK for normal life, but perhaps not as good as someone with perfect sight, however I do not need reading glasses and that's exactly the way that Mr Gartry said it would be. If you are considering having it done, it has been no trouble at all for me. The procedure itself was painless and the recovery swift. Make sure you use the eye drops meticulously though. Thanks to Mr Gartry, Dr Ilari, Mike Behrends and all at Moorfields for a job well done.
I had Wavefront LASEK on 27/01/05. I was very nervous but everyone was very helpful. I would like to ask, I am now into my third week and my vision is still very blurry. Will this get better ? Is there anyone out there who has had this recently who can advise ?
I had Wavefront Lasik performed on 10th December 2004 by Mr Julian Stevens. This was after a long few months of questions and should I, shouldn't I's!! Any of your who've seen my first posting will know I went for my inital consultation on 1st June 2004!! My prescription was -3.5 in my left eye and -4.75 in my right with some astigmatism. Mr Stevens had assured me this was a fairly small prescription and wouldn't be a problem to fix. My appointment was 11.30 am and I had my surgery at 3.00pm. You do have to see the optician for a full sight test, then the nurse to explain all the drops, after care etc, and then Mr Stevens for him to perform a wavefront scan and talk you through the procedure, so it is a long time to be up there, but at least they are testing every single thing and you know the info in the laser machine will be correct.
I was a really nervous that morning, kept saying to my parents I didn't think I could go through with it and 'what if it goes wrong?', I was even worried that the laser machine wouldn't be working! But once in the car, calmed down slightly, only to become even more of a nervous wreck when we got hit by a lorry on the M25 – not what I needed at all. But strangley enough, actually stopped me thinking about the surgery and when me and my dad finally rushed through the door at exactly 11.30, I was quite calm and kind of looking forward to it – think I just wanted to get it over and done with.
Anyway, back to the surgery. All I can really say is that is isn't at all as bad as you think it will be, but it is a VERY strange experience. Not in any way horrible though, I'm not waking up in the middle of the night having nightmares, so it can't have been that bad! Mr Stevens talks you through everything as he's doing at and the nurses are there to reassure you. The nurse I had told me she'd had Lasik done recently and was fine, so that reassured me even more. You really can't feel a thing, but can see the instruments moving in front of your eyes, but luckily the room is in complete darkness so you can't see that much. The anaesthetic drops work very quickly and it is really all over in a few minutes. Making the flap is the worse part of the surgery as you can hear the machine working, but I didn't feel a thing. The lasering itself takes literally a few seconds and then the flap is smoothed back into place, drops put in, and the second eye is done. Which, by the way, I found worse as you know what's happening, but it's all over soon. After my sugery my eyes were cloudy and watery, but not painful, just a little sore. It was like I was looking through a net curtain. On the way home, I could see the road ahead, car number plates and road signs. My eyes were stinging a little on the way home, but the drops soon fixed that. I have had slight haloing at night for the first week or so, but that has settled down now, and occasionally my right eye is blurry in the morning and takes the rest of the day to sort itself out. That seems to be happening less and less now. I have had absolutely no other problems and can see just fine. The saturday after my surgery I could read the bottom line of the chart which is above driving standard, and I never quite managed it with my contacts, let alone my glasses.
I have a check up in 3months after the surgery and that will tell exactly how good my vision is.
Mr Stevens is a brilliant surgeon and I have come out with exactly what he promised me – almost perfect vision. He is very confident nothing will go wrong with the surgery, but if it does, who better to sort it out?
I still can't quite believe I've had the surgery, nor can my family or friends who had to put up with me worrying about it for so long, but there really is nothing to worry about with the procedure. I work on computers all day without a problem and am driving without problems.
I just can't wait to go swimming again and actually be able to see other people in the pool before I swim into them! But for now, it's lovely just to be able to wake up and see. And, no, I don't miss my glasses at all!
Feel free to get in contact if you have any questions and I might be able to help.
I was very nervous about having laser eye surgery for fear of something going wrong – you only have one set of eyes and mine were fine being corrected by lenses. However, after letting my mother be the guinea pig and watching her delighted with the results both my sister and I decided to book in with Mr Gartry – who came highly recommended. For both of us there wasn't really a decision to be made. We had both been severly short sighted since childhood and were both about -7.00 in each eye. Having decided to go for Wavefront which is supposed to be the most accurate, we booked our appointments together. Mr Gartry is very clear to point out that there are no guarantees with the results as each person heals differently and it is important to remember this. The fact that you can watch people go down for the surgery and come back up again, amazed, helps to get you through the operation which I personally did not find that pleasant. It is not painful and you are told what is going on the whole way through. Immediately afterwards both my sister and I experienced very sore and watery eyes but once in the car on the way home, we could see street signs!! By that evening we were watching television unassisted. At our first review 48 hours later, we were told that we could read the 20/20 line – a great result. Nearly 9 weeks on we are both at different stages. I feel fairly comfortable with my vision although my right eye is not a patch on my left and on its own lets me down. However together they are 20/20. My vision at night time isn't perfect but I don't struggle to see anything – it just lacks a certain sharpness. I have to go for an eye test at 3 months post surgery and that will tell me once and for all what my final prescription is. My sister feels her vision lets her down in artifical lights ie. large shopping centres or cinema and is convinced she still needs glasses. Only the test will tell. The most important thing to remember, which I try to remind myself daily, is that the sharpness I experienced wearing glasses or lenses will probably never return. I wore them for 27 years and now I have to get used to (both mentally & physically) not having the same vision. I also have to get used to the fact that I don't have to reach for my glasses first thing in the morning and i am now a 'get up and go girl'!!
I had Wavefront surgery with David Gartry on the 1st of November this year. My prescription was +2.25 with 1.5 astigmatism in both eyes. The surgery was a great success. I still have a bit of 'Haloing' but this appears to be getting better and a small amount of 'glare' but to be honest I can't quite remember how much I had before the op. The balance of the 'new' eyes took a while to get used to (a bit like new lenses or glasses) but it seems fine now. I can read the 20/20 line with my left eye which was always my worst and I can read the 20/10 line with my right eye. Combined I can easily read the bottom line. It is great!!! I just can't wait to be in an environment where the difference is immeasurable like on a beach or playing sports. My only regret is not doing it earlier. My advise to everyone though is do your research on your surgeon… you only have one pair of eyes and they are worth the expense!