Department of Health rules out eye care awareness campaign

The Department of Health (DoH) has ruled out investing additional resources to launch a national campaign to promote the importance of regular sight tests, despite several recent surveys revealing a severe lack of awareness about eye health among the UK population.

The question was put to the DoH by Optician after the publication of a survey undertaken by sight loss charity Action for Blind People (ABP) which revealed that one in four people are unaware that an eye test could save their sight and could aid diagnosis of other medical conditions.

This finding mirrored research data published in May, (News, May 2), by the Eyecare Trust, which also revealed that one in 10 has never had an eye test, yet 87 per cent surveyed said they had experienced problems with their vision.