Steve Brine MP – a Minister in the Department for Health and Social Care with responsibility for Public Health and Primary Care – has given his support to best practice and orthoptic-led vision screening and sight tests. In response to some written Parliamentary Questions he recently said:
- Vision screening should be offered to all children aged four to five years rather than routine sight tests for younger children.
- This approach is supported by British and Irish Orthoptic Society and the Royal College of Ophthalmologists.
- Highlighted the importance of Local Authorities (LAs) in commissioning local screening services and referenced the guidance from Public Health England to support LAs as commissioners of such services.
The Minister also referred to the recommendation of the United Kingdom National Screening Committee (UK NSC) that child vision screening between four and five years of age should be offered by an “orthoptic-led service” and look for vision defects such as amblyopia and refractive error.
He also acknowledged that the UK NSC were aware of issues around “quality and consistency of the current vision screening service” and highlighted that a suite of resources had been published to help improve quality and provision of service in the UK.
It is very encouraging that the Minister has acknowledged the importance of orthoptic led screening and issues around the postcode lottery of provision, which BIOS is working to address.
If you are interested in finding out more:
Visit our Vision Screening page.
Attend out Vision Screening Event on 24 April. Sign up here.