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A Sheffield MP has called on healthcare organisations to lobby the government and urge the current Con-Lib coalition to invest appropriately in the British public's eye health.
The clarion call came from MP for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough David Blunkett, who claimed that sight services are becoming increasingly important - particularly as the population ages.
Speaking at a conference organised by Vision 2020 to coincide with National Eye Health Week, the MP, who has been blind since birth, said: "You might bring along equipment to parliament, where a lack of vision, short-sightednessand blinkers are usually the order of the day.
"Given that this is the age of austerity, demonstrate just how we can save enormous resources for the future by early intervention and prevention methods."
Meanwhile, health economist Dr Andrew Walker claimed that NHS funding had been generous over the past decade and funding would need to be secured for the next ten years if people's eye health was not to suffer.
Chief executive of the Royal National Institute of Blind People Lesley-Anne Alexander claimed that collaboration could be key to ensuring that the eye health and
vision correction services available to Britons is not lost.
She told Optician Online: "The public spending cuts that are coming are going to overshadow anything that we're already experiencing.
"We need to be even better at working together with like-minded organisations."
New research released as part of National Eye Health Week showed that a large number of people in Great Yarmouth are concerned about their eyesight deteriorating.
The Great Yarmouth Mercury noted that while four out of five people are concerned about their eye health, only 20 per cent have consulted a professional optometrist, ophthalmologist or their GP about possible
vision correction solutions.
According to the paper, 1.8 million people in the UK suffer from some form of sight loss, with many in need of a
cure for myopia - such as Ortho K overnight corrective lenses.
Written by Chris Alexander
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