Eye clinics 'can't cope with demand' for sight-saving drugs The NHS needs to urgently consider how it will meet demand for this treatment. If it doesn't, patients will lose their sight unnecessarily. Helen Jackman, chief executive of the Macular Disease Society, said: "We know eye clinics are working very hard to treat patients in a timely way but they must have the resources to do the job. Losing your central vision to AMD is devastating, all the more so if it is lost when there is a treatment which works. A spokesman for the society added: "Demand is massively outstripping supply. Clinics don't have enough time and there is a lack of trained staff. Macular disease is the most common cause of sight loss, accounting for half of all those registered in the UK as sight impaired. AMD affects about 240,000 people in Britain. In February Dame Judi Dench, the actress, revealed that she was suffering from it. A Department of Health spokesperson said: "Patients have a right to drugs and treatments that have been approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. The local NHS is responsible for making sure their patients are getting access to this drug. The treatments available for wet AMD are making significant improvements in the lives of patients who suffer from this condition.