Vision Strategy group highlights rising need

A comprehensive eye health and sight loss statistics report for England has identified a slight increase in NHS eye examinations compared to the prior year.

According to the report there were 12.3 million NHS sight tests in 2012/13, growth of 0.3 per cent on the previous year.

It represented an increase of over 27 per cent since 2002/03, while the rate of NHS sight tests per 100,000 people had increased 19 per cent during the same decade.

The Eye Health Data Summary report was launched by the UK Vision Strategy Partnership, also documenting the rate of certifications of vision impairment, numbers registered with sight loss or severe sight loss, and outpatient and inpatient information.