1.5m tested in Scotland

There has been a 64 per cent increase in people in Scotland having NHS eye examinations since the introduction last year of NHS examinations for all.

In the year to March 31 2007 NHS eye examinations totalled 1,573,103, compared to 959,849 in the year to March 31 2006.

Of those examined, 3.6 per cent were then referred to their GP or for hospital treatment, with 96.1 per cent not referred for further care.

The NHS Information Services Division revealed that 38.1 per cent of all supplementary NHS eye examinations were for further checks of fields and intraocular pressure. There was a decrease of 3.1 per cent in the number of NHS vouchers at 442,944, while the number of supplementary tints decreased by 9.9 per cent at 10,847.