Action needs to be taken to ensure that patients across the UK are receiving the same routine and emergency eye care, the Association of British Dispensing Opticians (ABDO) has said.
The call to governments to take action has been made to mark the 21st anniversary of the World Health Organization’s Vision 2020 initiative, which aims to eliminate the cause of preventable blindness by 2020.
Clive Marchant, president of ABDO, said that the Scottish Government’s commitment to eye health in 2006 has revolutionised care to enable prevention and early intervention of avoidable sight loss.
‘On the anniversary of the Vision 2020 initiative it is disappointing that England, Wales and Northern Ireland are failing to follow Scotland and offer a universally NHS funded comprehensive service to catch treatable eye conditions at an early stage. Action now could not only save people’s sight but also save the NHS and Social Care significant amounts of money,’ he said.
ABDO is calling for further investment in general ophthalmic services so that practitioners can be used to their full potential across the UK.
Marchant added: ‘Getting the right eye care at the right time from the right clinician is important from the cradle to the grave. We would like to see everyone have access to NHS funded regular eye examinations from pre-school onwards to give everyone the best start in life.
‘The risk of eye disease grows as you get older and it is vital for eye disease and the need for spectacles to be detected as early as possible, which can only be done by regular eye health checks. Scotland is leading the way here.’