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Eye-test figures plummet

There has been a large fall in the number of people having eye tests since charges were introduced on 1 April 1989.

A recent report from East Birmingham community health council revealed that the number of people having their eyes tested had fallen by 49% in the first three months following the introduction of charges. Only 42,306 people had eye tests during that period, compared with 71,801 in the same quarter of 1988.

’Many serious diseases can be detected in the early stages by these simple tests.’ said CHC chair Anne Davis. ‘But even those who are exempt from paying the government’s new charges are now not having the tests’. Birmingham’s experience is typical of many parts of he country. In Durham, a survey by Labour MP Gerry Steinburg recorded a drop of 60% in demand. In Cardiff, one optician said tests have fallen from 200 a month before the charges to 120 a month now. Similar figures have been reported from Edinburgh, Huddersfield, Coventry, London and Wolverhampton.

Ian Hunter general secretary of the Association of Optometrists, estimates the average reduction to be between 30% and 50%.

Meanwhile, there has been an increase in referrals to hospital eye clinics, as GPs send to hospital patients who are not exempt, but who cannot afford the charges. While the average cost of an eye test at an optometrists is £10.40, it costs about £50 for a patient to be seen in a ophthalmic outpatient clinic.