NHS England has launched a pilot scheme to provide free eye examinations and glasses for homeless people in Hampshire and Dorset.
Since April 2018, the scheme has helped 132 homeless people to receive sight tests and has provided 113 pairs of glasses.
The Local Eye Health Network (LEHN) has worked with NHS England to develop a service that accepts shelters as a fixed address for homeless people, so the eye test can be carried out there. Optometrists with mobile equipment have been visiting shelters every two weeks to perform the eye tests and check for eye or health conditions.
Simon Small, optometrist from Simon Small Home Visiting Optician, said: ‘Thanks to this pilot, they can receive the care they need and deserve and are treated like human beings. I would like to thank everyone involved in this project, it is changing lives and it would be a tragedy if it were not to become a permanent service.’
Shelters in Southampton, Portsmouth, Bournemouth, Weymouth, Winchester, Andover and Gosport have been taking part in the scheme, which will run until the end of March.
Mike Graham, chief executive at the Lantern Trust shelter in Weymouth, added: ‘The service is working really well. Our client group includes the most marginalised and excluded from society, so this project has enabled them to gain access to health care that they wouldn’t normally be able to.’