Undiagnosed eye problems

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Around 5 per cent of six-year-olds have an undiagnosed eye problem because of huge variations in screening services around the country, a new report claims. Research by the Association of Optometrists (AOP) found that undiagnosed problems went up to 10 per cent for 12-year-olds and called for a review of children's vision screening. The AOP said that there is a low uptake of free NHS sight tests by young children, and chief executive Bob Hughes called for eye testing to be mandatory before a child starts school.