Scottish statistics showing trends in General Ophthalmic Services north of the border make for interesting reading.
It was back in 2006 when the Scottish NHS GOS regulations set out a comprehensive eye examination to replace the sight test. Fixed test frequencies for different categories of patient were also set, additionally everyone in the region became eligible for a free primary eye exam.
Along with the inexorable rise in the numbers of people presenting for an exam another notable stat is the fall in the number of referrals. The number having an eye exam rose from 1.58m in 2006 to 2.04m last year. Over that time the proportion not being referred rose from 63 per cent to 80 per cent. The rise in exams didn’t lead to a massive increase in vouchers claimed.
The figures show increasing numbers being referred to hospitals, over the period referrals rose from 12,000, or one per cent of exams, to 55,000 or three per cent of exams. The GPs appear to be the ones who benefitted most with a drop in referrals.
What will stick in most minds is that in Scotland 80 per cent of eye care is now handled in a primary setting and, with the general Election so recent, Scotland’s penchant for wanting to do things its own way.
