This week is Glaucoma Awareness Week and Mims Davies MP is raising awareness to encourage people across Mid Sussex to talk about glaucoma.
It’s estimated that more than 700,000 people in the UK have glaucoma. Approximately half of them don’t know they have it. Mims wants to end preventable glaucoma sight loss and that starts with raising awareness of the disease and encouraging everyone to have regular eye tests.
Mims is working in partnership with the charity Glaucoma UK to give a voice to the different experiences of the growing number of people in the UK with glaucoma and the fantastic work that our clinicians do to support them.
With Glaucoma UK Mims is highlighting the diverse experiences people have with glaucoma including how people perceive the disease, different pathways to diagnosis, stories from those who give sight-saving treatment and everyday life with glaucoma. Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases which damage the optic nerve usually due to changes in pressure inside the eye (ocular hypertension).
New data from Specsavers reveals there have been 30,000 referrals for glaucoma in people aged 40–60 years in the last year; accounting for nearly a third (30%) of all glaucoma referrals.
Typically, there are no symptoms to begin with as glaucoma develops slowly affecting the periphery of your vision first. This mean that hundreds of thousands of people in the UK have glaucoma –which can cause vision loss -but are unaware that they do. Although most will not experience any symptoms, glaucoma can lead to loss of vision if it's not detected and treated early .Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide and delayed follow-up is resulting in deterioration of vision and patients losing sight. Vision lost to glaucoma cannot be recovered, but with early detection, careful monitoring and regular treatment, most people retain useful sight for life.
Having an eye test at least every two years, regardless of your age or whether you’re experiencing vision issues or symptoms –is so important.
Mims recently visited 4Sight Vision Support’s (4SVS) Yews Lunch Group in Haywards Heath to meet staff, volunteers and clients and to see first-hand the specialist services that the charity offers to blind and sight impaired residents in the area, and throughout West Sussex.
Clients talked with Mims Davies about low vision services provision in Mid-Sussex, and how it differs compared to other areas in the county, highlighting an inequality. This included waiting list times for ophthalmology, in particular long Glaucoma-related waiting lists. There were also questions around the current benefits systems and apparent inconsistencies around Personal Independence and Disability Living Allowance payments. This led onto other DWP services such as Access to Work and the delays in getting employees support to enable them to excel in their roles. There were also some comments around the scrutiny applicants are placed under when applying, even when their circumstances have not changed or they are living with a lifelong condition.
Kirstie Thomas, CEO at 4Sight Vision Support, has previously been in contact with Ms Davies to address issues such as these and was delighted that she took time to visit the Group. She comments,
“The visit is a key step in building upon the work we have done together so far, and was a great opportunity for Ms Davies to meet our clients and understand their key concerns about service provision. I hope that the visit has provided further clarity about how these issues can be more effectively addressed in the future to promote change.”
Speaking on the visit, Mims said:
I understand the extraordinary job that organisations such as 4Sight do in improving the lives of people whose disability so often cuts them off from their community. Support groups like The Yews Lunch Club allow people to stay informed with what is going on locally and helps them to engage with friends and family.
Earlier this week I was proud to become a RNIB champion to support blind and partially sighted constituents in our area. I will look forward to working more closely with them, as well as developing a greater understanding of the challenges facing those living with sight loss in our constituency.
You can read more about the visit here.