A man suffered a detached retina following a cataract operation before discovering his surgeon was still a trainee.

The patient had been referred to the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion in Edinburgh for surgery to remove the cataract but his consultant ophthalmologist was off sick.

He was offered the chance to delay the surgery but agreed to go ahead with an alternative surgeon.

He suffered complications which resulted in his retina becoming detached and later discovered that the surgeon was still a trainee.

The man contacted the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) to raise concerns the surgeon's lack of experience had not been made clear to him before the operation.

Described in the report as Mr C, the patient also complained it took several consultations over a number weeks to diagnose his detached retina.

As well as the cataract, Mr C had an epiretinal membrane on the centre of his eye, which threatened to affect his vision.

After the SPSO consulted independent experts, it upheld Mr C's complaint against NHS Lothian.

A report published on Wednesday said: "We concluded that, whilst Mr C's retinal detachment was not present during the first few post-operative examinations, at one appointment it was noted that the ophthalmologist could not get a clear view of his retina.

"We accepted the advice that, had an ultrasound been carried out at this point, the detachment may have been identified. This could have led to diagnosis a week sooner than Mr C experienced."

The SPSO also found that although Mr C's consent for surgery was "properly obtained", the board should have told him a trainee surgeon was responsible for the operation.

It made four recommendations to NHS Lothian, advising the health board to apologise to Mr C for failing to arrange an ultrasound; to share this decision with the staff involved in Mr C's care; apologise to Mr C for failing to tell him that the surgeon was a trainee, and to share comments on good practice with the ophthalmologists.