House of Commons event raises awareness of prevalence of sight problems among people with learning disabilities

Published: 30 January 2012

People with learning disabilities are ten times more likely to have serious sight problems 

The All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) on Eye Health & Visual Impairment and Learning Disability held a joint meeting on Tuesday 17th January to discuss recent research by leading sight loss charities SeeAbility and the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB). 

The APPG meeting aimed to raise awareness among Parliamentarians of the research's key findings:- 

.    There are one million adults with a learning disability in the UK.

.    People with learning disabilities are ten times more likely to have serious sight problems than other people. People with severe or profound 

     learning disabilities are most likely to have sight problems.

.    Six in ten people with learning disabilities need glasses and often need support to get used to them.

.    There will be a ten per cent increase in people with learning disabilities and sight loss over the next 20 years. 

The meeting was chaired by the Rt. Hon. Tom Clarke CBE MP - Co-Chair of the APPG on Learning Disability - and heard speeches from David Scott-Ralphs, Chief Executive of SeeAbility, Dr Margaret Woodhouse of Cardiff University, Gordon Ilett, an optometrist and Scott Watkin, SeeAbility's eye 2 eye ambassador. 

The speakers highlighted eye health in people with learning disabilities as a key public health issue and emphasised that everyone with a learning disability should have a sight test at least every two years, or more frequently if advised by an optometrist. People with learning disabilities may not know they have a sight problem and changes in behaviour may be the only way to communicate that they have problems.  Often this behaviour is misinterpreted by families and supporters. 

The speakers also called on local health planners to set up enhanced sight testing schemes, with more training for optometrists and longer appointment times. A new sight testing pathway being developed by the Local Optical Committee Support Unit (LOCSU) will promote best practice. 

The Rt. Hon. Tom Clarke CBE MP said: "The meeting of the APPGs was a valuable opportunity to raise the importance of people with a learning disability having access to eye care services. People with a learning disability are more likely to face eye health problems, but find it more difficult to access the services they need. It is important for the NHS, eye health professionals and other local agencies to work more effectively, to help improve the eye health services of people with a learning disability."

Scott Watkin, previously Co-National Director for Learning Disabilities at the DoH, who has a learning disability said: "I am a great example of how having the right eye health care can change your life. Sight tests detected major problems with my vision and through eye surgery I have regained vision, which has opened up all sorts of possibilities for me. If you get the chance to improve your sight - go for it."

David Scott-Ralphs, Chief Executive of SeeAbility said, "We know that people with learning disabilities are ten times more likely to have sight problems than other people in the population and yet least likely to get the right help and support with their eye care. This event was an important opportunity to raise awareness and to suggest realistic ways to improve practice nationally with policy and decision makers. Through SeeAbility's eye 2 eye Campaign we will be continuing to champion this issue for people with learning disabilities."