Originally published June 22 2005
Diabetics not receiving important eye health screenings, says British diabetes charity
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
This article from the Scotsman says the charity Diabetes UK found that 41 percent of diabetics aren't getting the eye screenings that could save them from retinal degeneration -- the number one cause of blindness in adults.
Patients with long-term diabetes are at risk of retinopathy, a disease of the eye which is the leading cause of blindness in working-age people in the UK.
But a survey of more than 1,000 diabetics found that 41 per cent were either not receiving regular screening or were not being screened using a digital camera, as recommended by experts.
The charity Diabetes UK yesterday launched a report in Parliament, Diabetes and Blindness: A focus on action, in an effort to make screening more widely available.
Its survey, published during Diabetes Week, also found that 21 per cent of diabetics said they had not been offered an eye examination in the past year.
Diabetes UK said at least a quarter of tests fell short of nationally recommended standards by not using a digital camera.
The government has pledged �27 million to buy digital cameras and software.
The National Screening Committee has recommended digital cameras as the most effective way of picking up retinopathy at an early stage.
Around 1.8 million people in the UK have been diagnosed with diabetes, but it is estimated that another million may have the condition without realising it.
Douglas Smallwood, the chief executive of Diabetes UK, said the situation with screening was very worrying.
"We have the targets, we have guidelines on how screening should be undertaken and we have the funding.
Now we need some action - without it people will go blind," he said.
The health minister Rosie Winterton said: "Diabetic retinopathy screening is a key priority for the government and, by next year, a minimum of 80 per cent of people with diabetes will be offered screening for the early detection of diabetic retinopathy, rising to 100 per cent coverage of those at risk of retin-opathy by end of 2007."
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