Thomas Pockington Trust believe sight loss to be overlooked in care homes

A joint report from sight loss charity Thomas Pocklington Trust and think tank the International Longevity Centre UK has claimed that eye health is too often neglected in care homes, while being critical of a lack of national policy on the issue.

Based on an estimate that half of 400,000 residents are judged to have a form of treatable sight loss, the findings recorded in ‘Undetected sight loss in Care Homes: an Evidence Review’ found that eye tests were too often not available to adults in care, or else services failed to ensure they were taken up.

Research director of Thomas Pocklington Trust, Sarah Buchanan, comments: “The review shows there is an unacceptably high rate of treatable sight loss in care homes. While eye care and sight tests are neglected this will never change. Eye care is not a minor part of general health – it is a crucial priority, vital to people’s health, well-being and independence. Only by recognising it as such will older people in care homes receive reliable, high quality eye care.”

The report also singled out the plight of residents diagnosed with a form of dementia, claiming there to be a “false assumption that sight testing someone with dementia is not worthwhile”.

More effective training in eye health related issues amongst care staff is recommended, together with a tackling of the assumption that, where old age is a concerned, combating sight loss means an inevitable losing battle.