Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of my colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Kathleen Lynch. I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to outline the current position on health services for people who have a visual impairment orare blind. It is important to emphasise that the core objective of the health service is to maximise people's health status throughout their lives. The emphasis is on the prevention of disease and the management of health conditions at the lowest level of complexity which is safe, cost-effective and accessible to service users. These principles inform the approach to people's eye health, in addition to the wide range of other health issues that may affect them.

There are a number of eye conditions which require specialist health services, including cataract, refractive error, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and age related macular degeneration. There are detection and treatment services available at present in community and acute hospital settings for these conditions. In addition, the HSE has an established a clinical ophthalmology programme to improve access, quality and cost effectiveness.

The Health Service Executive, HSE, provides a sight testing service as part of the school health screening programme. Children who are identified as requiring treatment or intervention are referred to the HSE ophthalmic services. Urgent cases are given priority. Children between 12 and 16 years of age also receive services under the medical card scheme or are eligible to be seen by the HSE ophthalmic service when there is a medical reason for the eye condition, rather than refractive error. HSE community ophthalmology services also provide assessment, information and intervention for adult medical card holders with vision disorders. In addition, the HSE makes eye testing, treatment and optical appliances available to adult medical card holders through contracted optometrists and dispensing opticians.

The HSE is establishing an ophthalmology review group to examine issues around primary care ophthalmology services and many of the issues the Deputy has quite correctly raised this evening. This review group will consider the changes required and will identify any matters which it considers should be addressed on a priority basis. Screening by the national diabetic retinopathy screening programme is well under way and is on target to invite all eligible participants for screening by the end of 2014.

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