Low vision services provision throughout NHS Trusts in the UK

Background/Aims: The aim of this study was to understand the picture of low vision service provision within NHS Trusts in the United Kingdom, for children and adults.

Method: A survey was distributed to all members of the British and Irish Orthoptic Society (BIOS) and to all Eye Clinic Liaison Officers (ECLOs) through the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB). The survey was also directly emailed to Orthoptic contacts of all 238 Trusts/Health Boards, which covered the four nations of the United Kingdom. The survey asked whether their Trust had a clinical low vision service, which professions were involved in leading and working within it, where it was based, and whether provision was offered to children, adults, or both.

Results: In the United Kingdom (UK), 117 out of 238 (49%) Trusts responded. Of these responders, 94% had a level of Trust-delivered low vision service provision; 90% had services for adults; 83% had services for children; and 79% had services for both adults and children. Service accessibility for patients of all ages had regional and national variation.

Conclusion: Significant variation was found in low vision service provision throughout the UK, with some regions having no NHS-delivered provision for either children, adults, or both. This calls for further research to gain a more comprehensive understanding of low vision service provision and remove inequalities in provision, access and resourcing, aiming to ensure equitable access for all.