Parliament hears of screening concerns

A rally to petition MPs on the failure to meet National Service Framework (NSF) targets for retinal screening in England took place in Parliament Square this week.

Campaigners from Diabetes UK and the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) joined with patients including veteran comedian Jimmy Tarbuck, who has Type 2 Diabetes, to take concerns about eye screening to government.

New Department of Health figures show that only 60 per cent of people with diabetes received retinal screening from January 2005 to December 2005, an increase of only 9 per cent on the previous 12 months.

By June 2006, 70 per cent of people with diabetes should have received screening. And by the end of 2007 all people known to have diabetes should have been offered screening using only a digital camera within the previous 12 months.

After a photo call on Parliament Square, campaigners met their MPs to voice their feelings.

Douglas Smallwood, chief executive at Diabetes UK, said: 'This situation is very worrying as diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of blindness in the working population. However, blindness can be prevented in the majority of cases if treatment is applied early and adequately. This is why it is crucial that all people with diabetes have their eyes fully checked annually.'

Fazilet Hadi, RNIB director of policy said: 'It is shocking that today in the UK there are people unnecessarily losing their sight. We are calling on the government to identify and tackle the barriers that prevent people with diabetes from receiving eye screenings. We also call on the government to increase awareness of the benefits of regular eye tests for everyone.'