Glaswegians fail to turn up for screening

More than half of the 50,000 patients living in and around Glasgow failed to turn up for their routine retinopathy screening appointment in 2007, according to a report in the Evening Times.

The official figures reveal that 26,500 patients invited for screening failed to turn up for their appointments despite diabetic retinopathy being the main cause of sight loss in adults in Scotland, the paper reports.

RNIB Scotland, which has campaigned for routine screening, expressed alarm at these figures. The charity's director, John Legg, said: 'This could be because they either misunderstand the importance of screening or are frightened with regard to the results.'