Bill Harvey: England is a garden

The term ‘low vision’ carries too many connotations with sight impairment registration, specialist referral, and the dishing out of magnifiers. And as magnifiers are not covered by a voucher scheme, we still have a situation where an already over-burdened secondary care system is being clogged up with people who would most benefit from a clear understanding of their visual environment, advice on lighting, and increasingly on the ever-growing range of adaptive and assistive devices, which are commonly used by all of us.

In my view, the majority of people needing help with their sight are not ‘low vision’, they are simply old. And surely their care falls into the remit of the ECP?