Vulnerable may miss out on vital eye care

The Federation of Ophthalmic and Dispensing Opticians' Optics at a Glance report has revealed that many vulnerable people could still be missing out on vital eye care, with only 418,100 domiciliary sight tests carried out in the UK in 2008-09.

This is in spite of 1.54 million adults receiving care services in their own home in England in 2008-09 and a further 229,900 adults living in residential or nursing care homes.

The report also found that 69 per cent of sight tests in 2008-2009 resulted in a changed or new prescription, compared to 70 per cent in 2007-08. For the year ending March 31 2009, 34 per cent of all spectacle dispenses recorded by FODO were paid either in full or in part by an NHS voucher. The number of eye tests that resulted in reglazes remained at 6 per cent, which FODO said reflected the competitiveness of the price of new spectacles.