Kids' vision screening plans provoke outrage

'The situation is already bad, but the suggestion that children's vision should be screened once, in primary school, is dreadful. They are even saying that secondary schools which already conduct eye tests should stop doing so. It's appalling,' said a spokesman for the Eyecare Trust.
The plans, which came in the recent publication Health for All Children, formed a focus for debate during eye week, the theme of which was children's sight.
'Britain could soon have the worst children's vision screening system in the developed world,' said the spokesman.
Robin Hutchinson, of Guide Dogs, said: 'Tests carried out by Guide Dogs in a London primary school with Professor David Thomson during June 2003 found that 12 per cent of children had undetected eye problems and that 43 per cent had never had an eye examination.'
Wider research carried out by Professor Thomson found that one in five children had a problem with their eyes, which could lead to difficulties at school.