Eyesight: Testing
(asked on 19th October 2016) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in England aged over 60 had a free eye sight test in each of the last three years; and what proportion that was of the total number of people eligible for such tests.
The table below, taken from the General Ophthalmic Services Activity Statistics for England, published by NHS Digital, shows the number of National Health Service sight tests provided to people aged 60 and over in England, between 2013/14 and 2015/16.
Year | Total NHS sight test for people aged 60 and over | % of total NHS sight tests |
2013/14 | 5,576,957 | 43.6% |
2014/15 | 5,507,932 | 43.2% |
2015/16 | 5,651,025 | 43.5% |
It is not possible to estimate what proportion of people eligible for free NHS sight tests used their entitlement during the reported years.
Notes:
- Patients may qualify for an NHS sight test on more than one criterion. However, they would only be recorded against one criterion on the form. Patients are more likely to be recorded according to their clinical need rather than their age. For example, a patient aged over 60, with glaucoma is likely to be recorded in the glaucoma category only. The count by eligibility is therefore approximate.
- The figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one NHS sight test within the same period.