I am writing to confirm that I have now completed my search for the information which you requested on 14 September 2022 as outlined below:

It would be great if you had any statistics on some or all of the following, which I need to include in my feature (NHS Digital press office suggested I contact you).

• The prevalence of sight loss in the UK among older people - the most recent stats.

• How much more do older people have to see their optometrist/ophthalmologist compared to those who are younger with less health issues?

• What percentage of appointments are for older people on average per week/month/year compared to patients of other ages?

• Any stats about the cost to the NHS across the UK or economic impact of treating and managing older age groups’ eye health?

Response

A copy of the information is attached.

We have provided you with a breakdown of the number of sight tests carried out from April 2021 to March 2022.

Please note, the NHSBSA does not hold statistics about the economic impact of treating and managing older age groups’ eye health, or recent statistics on the prevalence of sight loss in the UK among older people.

Data Queries

If you have any queries regarding the data provided, or if you plan on publishing the data please contact dataandinsightsupport@nhsbsa.nhs.uk / nhsbsa.foirequests@nhs.net ensuring you quote the above reference. This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.

If you plan on producing a press or broadcast story based upon the data please contact nhsbsa.communicationsteam@nhs.net. This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.

The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and is subject to NHSBSA copyright. This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence detailed at: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Should you wish to re-use the information you must include the following statement: “NHSBSA Copyright 2022” This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Failure to do so is a breach of the terms of the licence.

Information you receive which is not subject to NHSBSA Copyright continues to be protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation, from which the information originated. Please obtain their permission before reproducing any third party (non NHSBSA Copyright) information.