Parliament promotes screening campaign

The significance of retinopathy screening and patient education were highlighted at a Parliamentary reception last week.

The reception followed the publication of a report by the organiser of Diabetes Week, charity Diabetes UK, which claims that eye care for diabetics falls short of national standards (News, June 17).

Some local health services are still a long way from the critical target set out in the National Service Framework (NSF) for diabetes in England, the pressure group has said, and it has launched its new campaign, 'Action today, health tomorrow'.

At the Westminster event, health minister Rosie Winterton spoke on the importance of retinopathy screening and reiterated the Government's commitment to achieving the target of screening 80 per cent of people with diabetes by March 2006, with the aim of achieving 100 per cent by 2007.

Winterton also announced the publication of a joint report by the Department of Health and Diabetes UK on patient education. 'Equipped with the right knowledge and skills, patients can manage their diabetes much more effectively and get the best out of diabetes services,' she said.

'We are committed to mainstreaming consistent, high quality patient information and education in the NHS which we know can improve health outcomes.'

However, the charity's report estimates that 41 per cent of diabetics in England are either not receiving regular screenings for retinopathy or are not being screened using a digital camera, and time is running out.

Douglas Smallwood, Diabetes UK chief executive, commented that  'the situation is very worrying'.

The Parliamentary reception was hosted by Adrian Sanders MP, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Diabetes, who introduced Sir Michael Hirst, chair of Diabetes UK, Winterton, and Diabetes UK's president Jimmy Tarbuck, who suffers from type 2 diabetes. MPs were able to try on spectacles that simulate what it is like to suffer from retinopathy at the reception, which attracted over 100 people.

david.challinor@rbi.co.uk