Matthew has been diagnosed with a retinal detachment(*) in his left eye. Minutes before the first debate in the House of Commons last Thursday, Matthew experienced the signs of an approaching tear. After contributing to the debate he then referred himself to Moorfields Eye Hospital where he was told that he had 'floaters' in his eye but no damage was apparent. During a busy weekend's activity Matthew felt a change in his eye but continued to carry out all his constituency engagements until Sunday evening (7th September) when he returned to Moorfields as an emergency patient. It was at this time that a small tear in the retina was located. Early treatment is key to success and Matthew was commended for identifying the problem in a timely manner after carrying out visual acuity tests.

Speaking from Moorfields Hospital Matthew said: "I am dreadfully disappointed that I shall be missing three important debates in Parliament this week, as well as other Parliamentary and constituency events but the medical advice I received was that this should be treated immediately to have the greatest chance of success.

“One reason I became interested in eye health and sight related issues in Parliament was as a result of my personal experience. Just five months ago I was urging constituents to have regular eye tests (see here).

"I have also been vocal on regional variations in cataract surgery (see here) and noise generators on hybrid vehicles to warn partially sighted people on the approach of vehicles." (see here)

* Retinal detachment occurs when the thin lining at the back of the eye called the retina begins to pull away from the blood vessels that supply it with oxygen and nutrients. Without prompt treatment, it will lead to blindness in the affected eye. Retinal detachment is most often the result of the retina becoming thinner and more brittle with age and pulling away from the underlying blood vessels. It can also be caused by a direct injury to the eye, but this is less common. The quicker retinal detachment is treated, the less risk there is of permanently losing some or all of the vision in the affected eye. Most detached retinas can be successfully reattached with surgery. There are a number of different types of surgery available, depending on the individual. There are different reason why some people are susceptible to retinal detachment but a common cause is myopia. High myopia (greater than 5 or 6 diopters of near-sightedness) increases the risk of a retinal detachment. In fact, the risk increases to 2.4% as compared to a 0.06% risk for a normal eye at 60 years of age.