Comment: School screening policy defies logic

Where is the logic in the government's stance on vision screening for children in schools and why is there no public outcry over the lack of a safety net for young people's eye health? (see News last week and this).

Poor decisions by government can usually be tracked back to the need to cut costs and education is more aware than most of the creeping privatisation of state-run services.However, when it comes to vision screening for kids there are some fundamentals that simply don't square with the usual set of circumstances.

The cost savings associated with not screening kids for refractive error and basic eye disorders in schools are tiny. The costs of not picking up on these issues are huge infinancial and social terms. So can cost saving really be the issue?