UK Vision Strategy Manifesto for the 2015 General Election

2 The UK Vision Strategy

General Election Manifesto

Manifesto for the 2015 General ElectionSight loss•has a devastating impact on people’s lives

•costs the nation almost £22billion a year in direct, indirect and burden of disease costs [1]

•makes living with other long-term conditions much harder.

So we are asking for•a higher priority for eyecare services

• improved support for people who are living with sight loss

•a society fully inclusive of people with sight loss.

Almost two million adults, children and young people in the UK are living with a serious sight problem and without decisive action this is set to double by 2050. But it does not have to be like this.

We need to invest more to provide high quality treatment in both primary and secondary care. This will be money well spent. The total cost of sight loss in the UK in 2008 was estimated at just under £22billion a year [1]. Failure to invest in early detection and treatment of eye conditions means increased spending on health, social care, education and training to support people in the later stages of eye disease.

We also need to do much more to support those living with sight loss, on average 3,000 people in every parliamentary constituency.

This manifesto has been put together by the leading organisations in the UK concerned with eye health and sight loss [Note 1]. It calls for six effective

The UK Vision Strategy 3

General Election Manifesto

interventions that will save sight and deliver a better quality of life for people living with sight loss. These have been chosen in recognition of the very difficult public expenditure environment that is set to continue beyond the 2015 General Election. Each intervention will deliver benefits that greatly outweigh their cost. We ask for your support to ensure they are implemented during the lifetime of the next Parliament.

Six effective interventions

1 More people have access to a regular sight test and better community eyecare provision.

2 Timely access to high quality specialist care including cataract surgery and NICE-approved treatments for the main eye conditions.

3 Support in the eye clinic for people diagnosed with a sight threatening condition.

4 Rapid access to rehabilitation, habilitation and low vision services.

5 Support with the extra costs of sight loss.

6 Improved access to transport and the built environment.

[1] Access Economics 2009, Future of Sight Loss UK 1, The economic impact of partial sight and blindness in the UK adult population. RNIB. This figure includes over £2billion in direct costs, over £4billion in indirect costs and £15.5billion in burden of disease costs.

4 The UK Vision Strategy

General Election Manifesto

The effective interventions…1. More people have access to a regular sight test and better

community eyecare provision

There is an urgent need to increase the accessibility of regular sight testing particularly for at risk and seldom heard groups. In addition there needs to be uniform high standards of community eyecare across the UK.

This should be a priority for every Local Eye Health Network in England.

2. Timely access to high quality specialist care including cataract surgery and NICE-approved treatments for the main eye conditions

Each year over 300,000 operations are carried out on the NHS to remove cataracts. The procedure is highly cost-effective, restoring good vision in the vast majority of cases. Similarly there are now cost-effective treatments for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma, the three main causes of blindness and partial sight.

All of these need to be readily available on the NHS, again saving sight and saving money.

3. Support in the eye clinic for people diagnosed with a sight threatening condition

Rapid access to support at the time of sight loss is essential if people are to maintain their confidence and independence. Eye Clinic Liaison Officers, working in hospital eye departments, are critical to delivering this, providing a rapid assessment of the needs of the individual, immediate advice and onward referral to appropriate health and social care services.

This service should be available in every eye clinic, allowing people to start to re-build their lives following the devastating news that they are losing their sight.

The UK Vision Strategy 5

General Election Manifesto

4. Rapid access to rehabilitation, habilitation and low vision services

Rehabilitation and low vision services are vital in helping people to learn to live with sight loss. They are needed to provide practical coping strategies and new mobility skills for the home and external environment. They are key elements in enabling people to continue living in their own homes and avoid expensive residential care. Equally important is habilitation (for children) who are learning to live with impaired sight.

These services should be available for as long as the individual needs. You cannot learn the new skills you need to live an independent life with sight loss in just a few weeks.

5. Support with the extra costs of sight loss

Blind and partially sighted people face a wide range of extra costs in their daily lives. For those losing their sight under the age of 65, these costs have been recognised within the new system of Personal Independence Payments. This is welcome. For the great majority who lose their sight after 65, Attendance Allowance makes an important contribution to meeting those extra daily living costs. In terms of our social care system it provides early preventative support, stopping the slide towards expensive critical need and possibly residential care.

It is therefore vital that Attendance Allowance continues as a non means-testedbenefit,supportingolderblindandpartiallysightedpeople to live in the community.

6. Improved access to transport and the built environment

Inaccessible public transport makes it extremely difficult for blind and partially sighted people to get out and about independently. In particular, usable bus services are essential for independence for people who do not have the option to drive or cycle.

It is, in the main, the bus companies that need to take action, however we call on the next government to introduce a requirement for audio visual announcements on all new buses.Just as accessible public transport will help people with sight loss to work, shop, keep up with family and friends, contribute and be involved in society to their full potential, so will an accessible street environment.

6 The UK Vision Strategy

General Election Manifesto

To this end we seek a major review of the guidance for local authorities governing the street environment. In particular, we want a requirement for shared space schemes to include kerbs or similar delineators allowing blind and partially sighted people to navigate safely.

Saving sight and supporting those with sight loss

This is the challenge. Sight is precious but we do not do enough to take care of it, either as individuals or society. We seek a major transformation in our eyecare services together with policies that deliver effective support for blind and partially sighted people and full inclusion. Almost two million people in the UK are affected – on average 3,000 in every parliamentary constituency.

Please work with us to make this happen.

Note 1 What is the UK Vision Strategy?

The UK Vision Strategy initiative was launched in 2008 and was developed in consultation with a wide-ranging alliance of national, regional and local statutory health and social care bodies, voluntary sector organisations, eye health professionals and service users.

The Strategy is the UK’s response to the World Health Organisation’s VISION 2020 initiative which urged the implementation of plans to eliminate avoidable blindness and improve support for blind and partially sighted people. In 2013 the UK Vision Strategy for 2013-2018 was launched and was aligned to the World Health Organisation’s new “Global Action Plan for the Prevention of Avoidable Blindness and Visual Impairment 2014-2019”.

Delivered by a UK Vision Strategy coalition of key eye health and sight loss organisations, including the umbrella organisation VISION 2020 UK, the Strategy sets the high-level framework for change across the UK. This powerful combination gives the Strategy a credibility that cannot be ignored.

For a copy of the UK Vision Strategy visit ukvisionstrategy.org.uk

The UK Vision Strategy 7

General Election Manifesto

The following members of the UK Vision Strategy Leadership Group support the Election Manifesto:

V I S I O

THE RIGHT TO SIGHT

n

UK

UK Vision Strategy team105 Judd StreetLondon WC1H 9NETelephone: 0207 391 2157Email: ukvs@ukvisionstrategy.org.uk

Published January 2015 by Royal National Institute of Blind People, 105 Judd Street, London WC1H 9NE

RNIB registered charity number 226227 (England and Wales),SC039316 (Scotland) and 1109 (Isle of Man)