Opportunities for optometrists to provide diabetic retinopathy screening remain limited despite warnings that care for escalating numbers of people with diabetes has reached breaking point.
An extra 700,000 Britons are expected to have diabetes by 2020, from 3.7 million currently, according to Diabetes UK projections this week.
The charity warned that the cost of providing healthcare would put great financial pressure on the NHS, which already spends 10 per cent of its budget treating diabetes, meaning patients faced increased risk of blindness and other conditions.
'The healthcare system is already at breaking point in terms of its ability to provide care for people with diabetes,' said Diabetes UK chief executive Barbara Young.
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