Vision care part of postcode lottery in England, show studies

Primary healthcare was under scrutiny this week after a study by the National Children's Bureau found health and development of children under five varied dramatically between different parts of England.

Data across English local authorities and regions compared the 30 most deprived local authorities with the 30 best-off – with wide inequalities unearthed.

It follows findings released by the Thomas Pocklington Trust and University of Manchester last month, showing that older people in the poorest fifth of the population had an 80 per cent higher risk of developing severe visual impairment than those from the wealthiest fifth.

Researchers also found that deterioration in vision over a two year period was related to decreases in income, quality of life and social activity. People whose vision deteriorated from good or very good to fair or poor were found to have levels of depression that increased by 29 per cent and a fall in income levels of 19 per cent, compared to the changes for those whose vision remained stable.