There is confusion among primary care trusts, health boards and optometric advisers over appropriate visual field screening (VFS) methods for domiciliary patients, according to the UK Domiciliary Eyecare Committee (DEC).
It found that there was doubt as to whether electronic VFS equipment should be required equipment for GOS additional services contractors.
The DEC carried out research which included an audit of VFS equipment held by additional services contractors in a sample of PCT areas.
An audit of a sample of domiciliary sight tests performed in a one month period across the UK was also carried out to determine both the equipment available to the domiciliary practitioner at each patient visit and their evaluation of the patient's ability to comply with different VFS methods.
Pending evidence, the DEC has advised that the safest requirement for domiciliary patients was for all domiciliary providers to ensure that a portable means for testing visual fields - either manual or electronic - was routinely available, in addition to confrontation testing for all patients.
The DEC said that a means of testing visual fields to produce recordable results, such as the Damato Campimeter, in addition to confrontation targets should be routinely available to all patients.
