The Royal National Institute of Blind People Scotland has asked politicians standing at the elections to the Scottish parliament next month to be aware of the increasing problems of sight loss in the country.
The charity has just published its manifesto for the Holyrood elections, and claims that it could offer an important way to avoid the dramatic increase expected in numbers of people affected by sight loss in Scotland over the next 20 years. It is also keen to provide guidance on improving the lives of those who are already blind and partially sighted .
The expected increase is apparently because of the ageing population and problems of poor health, which have pushed up the levels of diabetic retinopathy, a major cause of blindness . RNIB Scotland are also asking politicians from all the main parties to keep the current scheme of free eye tests that was introduced in 2006, as it is a crucial factor for identifying potential sight loss at an early stage.
John Legg, a director for the organisation, commented "The financial cost – never mind the huge personal cost – of caring for twice as many people with sight loss would place an enormous strain on our health and social care budgets."
He added "So we need to do everything we can now to contain this rise, by treating sight loss conditions as early as possible when they can be arrested or even reversed."
RNIB Scotland warns about diabetic sight loss
Tue, 19 Apr 2011
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