Eye care for diabetics falls short of standard

The Government was this week handed a report which claims one in four eye examinations for diabetics falls short of nationally recommended standards.
The report, commissioned by charity Diabetes UK, also showed that 41 per cent of people with diabetes are either not receiving regular screening for retinopathy or are not being screened using a digital camera.
The Diabetes and Blindness: A focus on action report claims that many diabetics are falling through the net in the Health Service, and found that 21 per cent of people with diabetes questioned said they had not been offered an eye examination in the past year.
And despite the Government setting aside £27m specifically for the purchase of digital cameras and related software, the report found at least a quarter of tests undertaken fell short of nationally recommended standards by not using a digital camera. 
Douglas Smallwood, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said 'This situation is very worrying.  The Department of Health has already indicated retinopathy screening should be a priority and put resources into it, so there is absolutely no excuse for a slow response on this issue. 
'We have the targets,' he said. 'We have guidelines on how screening should be undertaken and we have the funding.  Now we need some action. Without it people will go blind.'
The National Screening Committee has approved and started the National Screening Programme in England.  However, Diabetes UK, along with the RNIB and the Insulin Dependent Diabetes Trust, have raised concerns that the programme lacks centrally funded, managed and independent quality assurance. 
Such systems are in place for other screening programmes and the three charities will be raising this issue with health minister Rosie Winterton.
Some local health services are 'still a long way', they claim, from the targets in the National Service Framework (NSF) for diabetes in England. By 2006, a minimum of 80 per cent of people with diabetes are to be offered screening for  retinopathy, rising to all by the end of 2007. Diabetes and Blindness: A focus on action surveyed 1,018 diabetics last month.