Conservative eye health spokeswoman Anne Milton MP has called for more action to tackle the problem of children with undetected vision loss in schools and the lack of access to services for the elderly.
Milton was speaking during a drinks reception at the House of Commons on Monday organised by the Eye Health Alliance and hosted by Sandra Gidley MP, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Eye Health and Visual Impairments.
The event was attended by representatives from the optical bodies, the GOC, politicians and other stakeholders, although health minister Ann Keen, who has responsibility for eye care, was unable to be present.
Milton told guests: ‘There is no doubt there are many children in schools unable to read or falling behind in their school work who have not had an eye test. Their parents are unaware of the fact that with simple measures their performance in school could be improved simply by wearing a pair of glasses.’
She added: ‘We have 65 per cent of men and 71 per cent of women who wear glasses, therefore it is staggering that we still have children in school unable to see properly.’
Drawing on her experience as a district nurse, and speaking of the need for older people with visual problems to be fully engaged in eye care, Milton said: ‘There are 1.4 million older people who are living in a home or in care and are unable to access high street opticians unaided and yet we only had 378,000 domiciliary sight tests carried in the UK in 2006-7. We are not getting the penetration we need.
‘There are 189,000 people with visual impairments who fall each year at an estimated cost of £269m to the NHS. It is the same old story as it often is in the NHS – failure to act early costs us further down the line. That is without factoring in the human suffering.’
Speaking on the objectives for the eye care sector in the coming months, event host Gidley called for improved access to eye care services for children and the elderly. ‘The launch of Vision Strategy marked a turning point. I am very pleased all areas of the sector have come together to agree a plan of action.’
David Hewlett, FODO’s chief executive officer and chair of the steering group for the National Eye Health Epidemiological Model, highlighted the launch of the web-based model which for the first time allows optometrists and commissioners access to reliable data on the prevalence of four common eye conditions in their locality.