Study prompts astigmatism alert

Government agencies in Northern Ireland (NI) are being asked to review their programme for vision screening of pre-school children after a study found that the scheme has failed to identify many primary school that have astigmatism.

The study authors - academics at Ulster University are now urging parents to take their children to an optometrist for an eye examination to ensure prompt diagnosis.

The academics - Dr Kathryn Saunders, Lisa O'Donoghue and Dr Julie McClelland from Ulster's Vision Science Research Group, tested the eye health of more than 1,000 NI school children in a study funded by the College of Optometrists and supported by the Northern Ireland Optometric Society.