Diabetics at risk of going blind because of poor screening

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Updated:

insulin

Diabetics who do not receive annual screenings for retinopathy risk losing their sight

Three quarters of a million diabetics are at risk of losing their sight because they are not screened properly, a charity has warned.

Patients are at risk of diabetic retinopathy, a disease which is the main cause of blindness in the UK's working population.

In 2003, the Government set targets saying diabetics could expect to be screened for the condition every year 'as a minimum.'

But Government figures for the year ending March 31 showed that a third of diabetics in England did not receive screening - equating to 762,673 people.

Campaign charity Diabetes UK warned that patients who do not receive annual screening and who are not recalled every year risk losing their sight.

Almost 60 per cent (94 out of 152) primary care trusts (PCTs) failed to meet their target of offering people with diabetes the chance to be screened, it said.

Simon O'Neill, director of care, information and advocacy services at Diabetes UK, said: 'It is appalling that a third of people with diabetes are not getting free digital retinal screening every year.

'If retinopathy is caught early and treated properly then blindness can be prevented in 90 per cent of cases, so the simple screening process really could save the sight of hundreds of thousands of people.

'Retinal screening services in England are patchy.

'PCTs need to ensure they are reaching out to all eligible people to invite them for screening, and in turn people with diabetes must make every effort to get to these vital appointments.

'If they have problems attending they can talk to their healthcare team about what help and support is available.'

Retinal screening spots signs of retinopathy, a condition caused when blood vessels in the retina of the eye become blocked, leaky or grow haphazardly.

This affects the way light passes through to the retina. If left untreated, retinopathy can damage eyesight and cause blindness.

The charity said a lack of funding for PCTs to provide adequate staff, training and development was a factor in why people were not getting screened.

It listed Wirral PCT, Western Cheshire PCT and Waltham Forest PCT as trusts which do not currently offer retinal screening to diabetics or have screening programmes that do not meet the required national standards.

It said West Hertfordshire PCT only screened 4.1per cent of patients, Camden PCT only screened 6.7 per cent and North Yorkshire and York PCT only screened 10.4 per cent.

A Department of Health spokesman said: 'The number of people being offered screening now exceeds the number of people with diagnosed diabetes when this target was set.

'England, together with other UK countries, leads the world in diabetic retinopathy screening and we are providing support to those areas who are still developing their screening programmes to ensure that all people with diabetes are offered screening as quickly as possible.'

More than two million people have diabetes in the UK, 1.9 million of whom live in England.

Based on the UK population, 1,200 people will lose their eyesight every year because of diabetes, according to the charity.

People with diabetes are 20 times more likely to go blind than those without the condition and 40 per cent of all people with diabetes have some degree of diabetic retinopathy.

Most watched News videos