Specsavers founder Dame Mary Perkins says large numbers of people are travelling from Wales to receive eye treatment in Bristol.
Dame Mary, who founded Specsavers in Bristol in 1984, recently opened a new eye care treatment centre in Clifton.
The Newmedica clinic has partnered with Specsavers and treats NHS and private patients across Bristol and its surrounding counties, including in North Somerset and Gloucestershire.
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But Dame Mary says “large numbers" of patients who are not able to get treated quickly in Wales are also travelling across to Bristol.
She said: “It’s quite different on the Welsh health service system but people are not being able to get their cataracts treated quickly so they are paying privately.
“Large numbers of people are coming across from Wales. I don’t think the Welsh government wants that to happen but people are having to wait too long there.
“It is quite unusual for South Wales because usually it has always been a little bit ahead of England.”
New guidelines were released in Wales this month requiring hospital eye services to have procedures in place to make sure patients receive an assessment or treatment within a “clinically appropriate” time.
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A Welsh government spokesperson said: “We recently announced £3.3million to transform eye care services in Wales, develop and support services in the community and reduce waiting times for patients.
“This will be supported by the introduction of a new eye care measure to ensure those who need new and ongoing treatment soonest are seen more quickly.”
Welsh health minister Vaughan Gething added: “Ensuring good eye care is absolutely vital, so we do not want people to risk their sight by having to wait a long time for a follow up appointment after having initial assessment."
The idea of opening the new community clinic, explains Dame Mary, is to help relieve pressure on Bristol's hospitals.
“We need to leave the hospitals for people who really need them,” she added.
“You can have the operation done at Newmedica, go home and that’s the end of it. People can be seen more quickly in the community which relieves the pressure on hospitals.”
