According to a warning by leading diabetes charity Diabetes UK, over 20,000 diabetics could be at risk of losing their sight due to failings of the local primary care trust.
Diabetes UK named and shamed the North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust as one of the worst in the country for offering free retinal screening for diabetic patients. The digital tests are used to assess the risk of diabetic retinopathy, one of the complications of the disease.
The government now require each primary care trust to provide free screening once a year for every diabetic within its catchment area. However, according to recent Department of Health figures, only a small percentage of diabetics in the North Yorkshire area are receiving the tests.
The Yorkshire manager of Diabetes UK, Linda Wood, reportedly commented: “It think that it is really dreadful that people are at risk of losing their sight because the service isn’t in place. For a person with diabetes, losing their sight is something that really frightens them more than anything. The PCT has had a number of years to get the service in place, and if it is not in place, it is pretty disgraceful.”
The PCT was named as part of an initiative by Diabetes UK called Your Vision.
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