Eye care services in the UK are languishing behind other European nations, a health report on the continent has shown.
Vision charity the RNIB expressed its disappointment at the findings, which took into consideration parameters including diabetes screening, waiting times and numbers of cataract procedures.
The 2013 Euro Vision Scorecard (EVS), released by Sweden-based Health Consumer Powerhouse to mark World Sight Day, found that Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland made up a top-tier of eye care – two levels ahead of the UK.
Steve Winyard, head of policy and campaigns at the RNIB, said: ‘It is very disappointing to see that the UK is in the ‘Third division’ when it comes to saving sight. The report found that in countries such as the UK, Italy and Spain services are “fragmented” and are described as “mixing noble intentions with mediocre performance and weaker outcomes”.’
Only Hungary, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia were below the UK in the ranking of 15 European countries.
UK services were on a par with Italy and Spain overall, the EVS found, although it was noted the UK was achieving 80 per cent coverage for those patients referred for diabetic screening.
The UK fell short of the World Health Organization’s recommendation for cataract operations of 4,000 interventions per million inhabitants, however.
Winyard added: ‘The UK is also found to be operating tight restrictions on access to cataract surgery. Only three countries [Poland, Lithuania and Slovakia] are delivering fewer cataract operations to their over-65 population. RNIB has previously raised concerns over this issue and in particular sharp regional variation in the provision of cataract surgery.’
The UK had the fifth highest vision impairment prevalence of the countries assessed in the EVS.