One hundred elderly people across the UK lose their sight needlessly each week because of the "lottery" in NHS eye care services, an MP warned yesterday.

It followed a survey for the Patients' Association which found that only one per cent of health authorities offer patients an appointment with a specialist within a month.

It also found that only half of all health authorities believe their provision of services is adequate, while almost a quarter offer no treatment for age-related macular disease (AMD).

AMD is the leading cause of blindness among adults in the UK and is estimated to have doubled since the 1950s.

The average waiting time for a routine referral to an ophthalmologist is three to six months, during which time many patients may lose their vision.

The survey also uncovered a wide variation in access to a variety of treatments and services for ophthalmic disease.

This means that, in some areas of the UK, patients will be going blind in the belief that no hope exists, while in others medical attention is received too late to prevent blindness, the Patients Association said.

Paul Burstow MP, Liberal Democrat spokesman for older people, who chaired a seminar for MPs and peers on the report, said it was "a wake-up call to health ministers".

Every week, 100 elderly people lose their sight needlessly because of the lottery in NHS eye care services, he said.

"Timely access to eye care is too much a matter of geography and good luck. It makes good sense to move eye care up the health agenda. Saving a person's sight in old age is priceless."

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: "We are committed to improving the standards of eye care available on the NHS."