Charity warns of blindness risk

Leading diabetes charity Diabetes UK has made it clear that thousands of people in the North West of England could be facing a greatly increased risk of blindness due to diabetes complications . The increased risk comes because they are not being adequately screened, the charity warned.
On the back of a variety of figures showing that the National Health Service is letting people with diabetes down by not giving them the tests that they need to prevent diabetes complications, it appears that 29.6 per cent of diabetics aged 12 or over did not get digital retinal screening for retinopathy.
Diabetic retinopathy is one of the most serious complications of diabetes, and the leading cause of blindness in the UK. Digital retinal screening tests for signs of retinopathy and can identify the complication at an early stage.